Human Altruism

To the author of "So Cleverly Kind an Animal" the only legitimate explanation of why human beings are altruistic is found in genetics, and specifically in "kin selection." Kin selection is a theory which refutes the Darwinian argument that "Individual advantage . . . is the only criterion of success in nature" (261). However, countering Darwin in actual human experience is activity which includes giving one's life for another. Kin selection is used by the author to expand human activity to include and explain altruism---actions which are not merely advantageous to the individual. However, along with Darwin, the author sees as legitimate explanations for human behavior only those theories which are based on genetics. He argues that altruism is genetically caused and is advantageous not to the individual but to the species. As the author writes, "Kin selection . . . seems to explain the key features of social behavior in ants, bees, and wasps" (265). That is, it explains why these insects behave in ways which are non-advantageous to themselves as individuals, but advantageous to the species. The author asks how kin selection might explain human altruism:

How can it help us understand the contradictory amalgam of impulses toward selfishness and altruism that form our own personalities. . . . Our altruistic tendencies . . . may have arisen by the same Darwinian route via kin selection. Basic human kindness may be as 'animal' as human nastiness" (265-266).

Related Essays

Civilization and Human Nature .... A main difference between Gladwell's text on context and control of behavior and De Waal's analysis of human altruism is the fact that the former provides no .... (1731 7 )

Durkheim's Dualistic Theory of Human Nature .... the evolutionist theory that made individual interest (egoism) the starting point of human history and pictured cooperation and sociability (altruism) as a .... (1173 5 )

Views of Human Nature .... between the pleasure principle and the spirit of social altruism. Yet, Weber does not seem to be trying to develop an overarching conception of human nature or .... (1565 6 )

Ethics of Evolution .... developed via natural selection, an advantageous quality develops through natural selection, and since altruism is an advantageous quality to human fitness it .... (1235 5 )

Motivating Forces of Self-Interest & Altruism .... interest and fear. Self-interest translates into self-preservation, which is the strongest urge of human beings. Fear manifests .... (2067 8 )

scribes the process of kin selection in terms of its affect on the family survival of those insects, and offers a clear and fair conclusion: "These asymmetries seem to provide a simple and elegant explanation for the most altruistic of animal behaviors---the 'willingness' of sterile female workers to forego their own reproduction in order to help their mother raise their sisters" (264). And, finally, he offers a reasonable attempt to extend his conclusions about the insect world to the world of human beings and their expression of altruism in their actions, all according to kin selection. He even puts the brakes on his conclusions before straying into territory which he sees as dangerous in its implications for human freedom: "But here I stop---short of any deterministic speculation that attributes specific behaviors to the possession of specific altruist or opportunist genes" (266). The author is not saying that he would be unable to offer accurate speculation in this area if he so desired, he is rather saying that he chooses not to offer such speculation because it would threaten man's vision of his own free will. He says: "I worry long and hard about the deterministic uses of kin selection" (267). Of course, the author does

Category: Philosophy - H