SOC 104 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: Santa Barbara City College
Document Summary
Evolutionary adaptation has given us two fundamental reasons to direct us and to help us lead successful and meaningful lives. We shall refer to these two motives respectively as self-concern and other- The most fundamental instinct of all living organisms, and the subject of the first human motivation, is the desire to protect and improve one"s own life and the lives of those around us. Human beings are driven to find food and water, get adequate shelter and defend themselves against danger. This is important because we can only live if we can achieve these basic goals. The desire to maintain and improve one"s self always causes us to do the same with our relatives those people that are genetically related to one another. Human beings, like other species, exhibit kin selection strategies that encourage the reproductive success of one"s relatives, sometimes at a cost to the survival of the individual itself.
