So what's the deal with altruism?
A new study suggests it may not have the origins we have suspected all
along. Instead of altruism existing as a response to greed, researchers
believe altruism may be a construct of society created by greedy people
to keep check on other greedy people, thereby increasing their own
chances of the biggest spoils. They found that pure altruism requires a
large expenditure of effort for the
entire society, while altruism based on the need for greed only requires
effort from the greedy, allowing the rest of society to passively reap
the benefits and often times cast reverence on the
greedy-false-altruists.
Some neat examples: "Tree wasps that
police hives to make sure that no member other than the queen lays eggs
will often lay illicit eggs themselves. Cancer cells will prevent other
tumors from forming. Medieval knights would pillage the same civilians
they readily defended from invaders, while neighborhoods ruled by the
Italian Mafia traditionally had the lowest levels of crime."
http://m.phys.org/news/
So what's the deal with altruism?
A new study suggests it may not have the origins we have suspected all along. Instead of altruism existing as a response to greed, researchers believe altruism may be a construct of society created by greedy people to keep check on other greedy people, thereby increasing their own chances of the biggest spoils. They found that pure altruism requires a large expenditure of effort for the entire society, while altruism based on the need for greed only requires effort from the greedy, allowing the rest of society to passively reap the benefits and often times cast reverence on the greedy-false-altruists.
Some neat examples: "Tree wasps that police hives to make sure that no member other than the queen lays eggs will often lay illicit eggs themselves. Cancer cells will prevent other tumors from forming. Medieval knights would pillage the same civilians they readily defended from invaders, while neighborhoods ruled by the Italian Mafia traditionally had the lowest levels of crime."
http://m.phys.org/news/
A new study suggests it may not have the origins we have suspected all along. Instead of altruism existing as a response to greed, researchers believe altruism may be a construct of society created by greedy people to keep check on other greedy people, thereby increasing their own chances of the biggest spoils. They found that pure altruism requires a large expenditure of effort for the entire society, while altruism based on the need for greed only requires effort from the greedy, allowing the rest of society to passively reap the benefits and often times cast reverence on the greedy-false-altruists.
Some neat examples: "Tree wasps that police hives to make sure that no member other than the queen lays eggs will often lay illicit eggs themselves. Cancer cells will prevent other tumors from forming. Medieval knights would pillage the same civilians they readily defended from invaders, while neighborhoods ruled by the Italian Mafia traditionally had the lowest levels of crime."
http://m.phys.org/news/
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