September 8, 2011.
What is altruism
“pure altruism” Help to someone else at some cost to self
(distinct from reciprocal altruism: done with expectation of return)
Is the tendency to behave altrusitically was evolved?
Other animals act in benefit for kin
E.g. bird lures predator away from nest to protect her offspring
We have genetic disposition to protect our genes (even if not done on conscious level)
Human altruism is also an effect that is amplified for kin
We have urge to protect an unknown child
Perhaps we are just pattern matching (consciously or unconsciously) off of our altruism for offspring.
You see a burning building and a person inside it
It’s your daughter - you rush in without thinking (and societally judged as moral behavior)
It’s your neighbor - you call the fire department (societally judged as moral behavior)
This is very distinct from Kantian moral behavior which would judge the scenarios as roughly equal.
(this is not a good model of how we actually behave)
Evidence that this behavior can be explained via evolution
Humans are evolved animals and thus behavior can often be successfully explained via evolutionary biology (human moral behavior no different in this regard)
However, altruistic behavior seems to be taught. Would this mean it’s not evolutionary?
There’s a learning component (like language, but we would never use the fact that it’s learned to argue that the capacity / faculty for it isn’t innate)
After all, different cultures have different moral systems
But there is extraordinary similarity among all cultures, indictative as a common starting point
E.g. Act to help your own kin
Similar to facial expressions corresponding to certain motions being similar across different cultures
The moral “grammar” is there from evolution but we have to learn the semantics of that grammar and how to apply the rules.
Example of what concretely do we have to learn to be altruistic?
We have to learn who are our kin?
We have to learn what is helpful vs harmful (e.g. that the doctor sticking needles in is not harming your child)
We have to learn to share as children (but children learn this remarkably easily)
Can human ethical behavior be justified by the fact it was evolved?
No. Actual human norms for moral discourse/justification are needed to justify actions morally
To say “I shot the intruder because I evolved to act that way” would not be a socially acceptable justification
Evolutionary theory is used to explain what those norms are. (E.g. “why is it that ‘I was doing it to be altruistic’ is successful in justifying behavior to other humans?)
Are morals all contingent based on the influence of evolution (rather than coming from pure reason)
“It’s just the type of people we are”
Used to justify thinking of the world in causal terms (Kant says we simply are not capable of doing otherwise)
Evolutionary biology gives explanation (ancestors who didn’t think tigers were causally connected would get eaten)
Likewise for altruism as a first principle, it can be justified by this line
Evolutionary theory provides further explanation of why that’s the case, arguments for how it increased fitness + heritability.
It’s not contingent if it is who we are / we have a certain nature
How to respond of general criticism of evolutionary psychology as not rigorous/testible?
In any scientific domain there will be theories that are adequately justified or not
Justified empirical support for things in the domain of evolutionary psychology
Instinctive behavior can be inherited
Ducks have instictive mating dances, breed ducks and get hybrid dances (no one teaching)
Developmental studies
Sequence of things learned are constant (e.g. in language we learn simple nouns first, then add X, Y, forming complex sentences, etc.
As a species we do well at altruism in small groups and get worse and worse as our groups which are large
That’s who we are. Should we go ‘beyond’ how we evolved to be better?
Treating kin well and more distant things worse is a constant from who we are.
We severely mistreat others when we treat the other tribal group as “the other”/“not us”/inhuman.
We become better behaved when we use our cultural knowledge / rational faculties to see that the other tribe isn’t so different from us after all.