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1 Sep 2018
Thinking of behaviours an organism can adapt, at the very basean action can always be either selfish or altruistic(cooperative).
Usually, selfish behaviour is assumed to be the preferred choiceand the question is how altruistic behaviour comes about.
But if reciprocal altruism can give both participants a higherbenefit than their respective costs (which it usually does), whywould selfish behaviour (in the sense of behaviour which reapsbenefit at another entity's expense) be what we assume to happen?If evolution tends to optimise things, why does it not optimisethis?
Thinking of behaviours an organism can adapt, at the very basean action can always be either selfish or altruistic(cooperative).
Usually, selfish behaviour is assumed to be the preferred choiceand the question is how altruistic behaviour comes about.
But if reciprocal altruism can give both participants a higherbenefit than their respective costs (which it usually does), whywould selfish behaviour (in the sense of behaviour which reapsbenefit at another entity's expense) be what we assume to happen?If evolution tends to optimise things, why does it not optimisethis?
Elin HesselLv2
2 Sep 2018
