The Evolution of Social Behavior: Examining Motivations for AltruismJohn CuchuralStoria della FilantropiaProfessoressa Giuliana GemelliJune 19th, 2012

The Human Condition Conscious thought is driven by emotion It is committed to the purposes of

survival and reproduction Why does social life exist at all? What is the identity of the driving

forces?

The Invention of Eusociality

Eusocial- group members containing multiple generations are prone to perform altruistic acts as part of their division of labor

Features of Eusociality A common, defensible nest where the

group is forced to interact with each other

Division of labor amongst the multigenerational group wherein all sacrifice at least some of their interests to the group

How Natural Selection Creates Social Instincts Behavioral traits, like physiological

traits, are hereditary Distinction between Unit and Target Unit- gene or arrangement of genes Target-combination of traits encoded by

units and favored/disfavored by the environment

Some targets acted on by group: communication, division of labor, dominance, and cooperation in performing communal tasks

Individual-versus-group selection results in a mix of altruism and selfishness

What benefits the group is quite often at odds at what benefits the individual

Human Eusociality Evaluation by members of group led to

difference between insects and humans This led to most successful strategies

becoming those mixing altruism, cooperation, competition, domination, reciprocity, defection, and decit

The Selfish Gene The selfish need for reproduction is

what drives all evolution Competition for mates and resources Drawbacks to out-and-out fighting Nobel acts as just a “smart” strategy to

survive

The War of the Sexes Mates share no DNA but have half

interest in offspring There is incentive to trick mate into

investing more Female’s best interest to refuse sex

before ample energy is invested into welfare of offspring

Males faithful, Females coy

Family Ties Based on Hamilton inequality family

altruism makes sense on a mathematical level

Bee stinging and dying to protect hive However there is a difference between

brother and child

Kin Selection Also known as inclusive-fitness theory States that the more closely related

members of a group are, the more likely they are to become an eusocial group

Altruism based of collateral gains of relatives at the cost of personal genetic fitness

Need for a New Theory of Eusociality Hamilton inequality: rb>c r defined as the fraction of genes shared

by altruist and recipient Argument with the looseness of the

definition of r Multilevel natural selection as a blanket

understanding instead

Wilson’s Steps of Eusocial Evolution Formation of groups Occurrence of preadaptive traits causing

groups to be tightly formed (nest-depend)

Appearance of mutations that prescribe the persistence of the group (knocking out dispersal behavior)

In insects development of workers Development of colony life into

superorganisms

The Origins of Morality and Honor Good and evil a product of multilevel

selection where group vs individual selection act in opposition to each other

Charity can be seen through lens of indirect reciprocity

Naturalistic understanding of morality and the ability to overcome instincts to create a more just world

Sources Seminar Overview: Darwin’s Medicine:

Evolutionary Psychology and its Applications,“Charity giving, philanthropy, and volunteering: Implications from evolutionary and social sciences,” Friday 29 May 2009, University of Kent

Wilson, Edward O. The Social Conquest of Earth. 1. New York, New York: Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2012.

Dawkins, Richard. The Selfish Gene. 30th anniversary. Oxford University Press, 2006.