Are We Selfish, Are We Nice, or Are We Nice Because We Are Selfish?
"Lets say you were given a choice. Either you can receive $10 and keep it all or you can receive $10 million if you give $6 million to you next-door neighbor. Which would you do? Guessing that most selfish people would be happy with a net gain of $4 million, I consider the second option to be a form of selfish behavior in which a neighbor gains an incidental benefit. " * Can selfish behavior then be seen as benevolence rather than a seemingly unwanted human characteristic?
Why would a monkey, on seeing danger cry out and warn the others in his pack, when any kind of noise would immediately put him in more danger than any of the others? Is the monkey putting others before himself in order that they might live, as a sort of sacrifice for the greater good? No, the monkey realizes that his best chances for survival lie in working together with the pack as a unit rather than as an individual relying on the fact that he too will need to be warned. Thus the sacrificial service, when seen in this light, is nothing but another act of selfish survival. So are we, like the monkey nice only because we are selfish?
*Nunney, L. (1998). Science, 281, 1619
Why would a monkey, on seeing danger cry out and warn the others in his pack, when any kind of noise would immediately put him in more danger than any of the others? Is the monkey putting others before himself in order that they might live, as a sort of sacrifice for the greater good? No, the monkey realizes that his best chances for survival lie in working together with the pack as a unit rather than as an individual relying on the fact that he too will need to be warned. Thus the sacrificial service, when seen in this light, is nothing but another act of selfish survival. So are we, like the monkey nice only because we are selfish?
*Nunney, L. (1998). Science, 281, 1619
posted by Joy at
1:18 PM
5 Comments:
im curious... how'd you find me?
By
nathaniel ma, at Tuesday, September 13, 2005
heh, i was reading andrew's blog and you posted it on the comments. but i wont read yours if you dont want me to.
By
Joy, at Tuesday, September 13, 2005
hey!
By
Steven, at Wednesday, September 14, 2005
nono read it if you want. as long as your write comments. i need the insight and analytical skillz :) hahhaha. umm. yea. just dont publish it.
By
nathaniel ma, at Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Yeah, she kind of stalks me now. It's for my money and power.
I think that that sounds right, at least from the perspective that there isn't any bit of inherent benevolence in the human nature, and especially when you look at more primal beings like monkeys.
But hey, we know better, right?
By
Andrew L., at Wednesday, September 14, 2005
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