Quote:
Originally Posted by John Wilkes Booth
you have to think about how natural selection works. genes are selected in a population based on success. if you are willing to sacrifice yourself for someone who shares a certain gene with you, then that gene can benefit more than if you always act selfishly in that case. think of a parent willing to sacrifice for their children. they can have multiple children that can potentially benefit from this instinct and those children can have a greater change to pass on that gene in even greater numbers. the same doesn't hold true for an instinct to sacrifice for the good of 'the species'. any one particular 'gene' might not benefit from this instinct and so there's no selective pressure for such a gene to develop.
|
But the reason human society evolved in the first place is because it increases survival odds, which makes it more likely that you'll pass your genes on. Meaning that genes that encourage social cooperation should get passed on. It seems like the same basic evolutionary mechanism to me.