----- Original Message -----
From: Cordell, Arthur: DPP <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Or, maybe, the selfish gene wants *my * DNA to go forward. Maybe we have
no
>'program' for the human species. Coming from a wide open world (the hunter
>gatherer saga) there is nothing in our internal makeup to cause us to
>cooperate at the level of survival of the human species. This latter
Exactly! We cooperate because it contributed to "inclusive fitness" in
hunter-gatherer communities. Apparently, the basic human cooperation model
between strangers is called "tit for tat". Upon meeting a stranger we give
them
the benefit of the doubt and cooperate. We remember his face and if he
later
stranger cooperates back, we cooperate again. But if he stiffs us, we
stiff
him back.
It's pretty simple and works well in small communities. People who didn't
cooperate, didn't pass their genes on to the next generation.
Here is an utterly fantastic page on these subjects
http://mitpress.mit.edu/MITECS/culture.html
Evolutionary theory identifies three ways in which cooperation can evolve
which differ in the delay before the "debt" incurred by cooperating is
repaid (see Bertram 1982). (1) Mutualism defines the condition when both
individuals gain an immediate advantage from cooperating. This may be an
appropriate explanation for many cases of group living where individuals
gain mutually and simultaneously from living together (e.g. through
increased protection from predators, group defense of a territory, etc). (2)
Reciprocal Altruism defines the case in which the debt is repaid at some
future time, providing this is during the lifetime of the altruist. This may
be an appropriate explanation for cases where individuals who are unrelated
to each other form a coalition for mutual protection: the ally will come to
the aid of a beleagured partner even though it is itself in no immediate
danger, but it does so on the implicit assumption that the partner will come
to its aid on some future occasion. (3) Kin Selection is defined as the case
where the debt is repaid after the death of the altruist because the extra
fitness that accrues to the recipient contributes to the altruist's
inclusive fitness. (Inclusive fitness is the technical term for the genetic
quantity that evolution seeks to maximize; it is the number of copies of a
given gene contributed to the species' future gene pool by an individual as
a result of his or her own reproductive output plus the number contributed
by his or her relatives as a direct result of that individual helping each
relative to breed more successfully). Kin selection can only work where the
two individuals are genetically related. It may provide an explanation for
assistance freely given to relatives without prior demands for
reciprocation.
Jay
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