Capacity for Cooperation—Part 2

Why will a soldier sacrifice himself for his buddies? Why have countless martyrs given up their lives for the cause? Similar situations exist in the animal world. The selfish-gene theory cannot account for this phenomenon, so the proponents of this theory tend either to ignore this situation or disagree that it has any relevance.

An alternative to the selfish-gene theory of evolution has recently been gaining adherents. This view sees cooperation as being at the foundation of evolution, not the selfish gene. This camp perceives the survival of the species to be more dependent on the group surviving, than the individual. After all, what good does it do for an individual, if all other members of its group dies off? He can’t send his genes into the future in that case. When the group is fit and healthy, however, everyone is better off. What’s more to the point, the group thrives when its members cooperate.

This is the crux of the current battle in biology—and it's a raging battle, too. Emotions are high and strong; tempers have flared. Those who favor the selfish gene theory have dominated the scene for a couple of decades now. So they have a lot at stake—many of them have based their careers on this assumption. The upstarts who favor cooperation are taking a lot of flak. Many people look upon scientists as cool headed, dispassionate dudes, who let the facts decide. But new and opposing facts are always—and often inconveniently—arising, and heads have gotten rather hot, in the current debate.

I'm biased towards the cooperation side of the argument. I've written before in this blog about how some biologists believe cooperation has been a positive factor in evolution. (See “Higher Cooperation,” 1/13/10 and “Be No Competition,” 10/2/10.) This topic is a very complex one. I don't think it can be boiled down to a simplistic explanation such as the selfish gene theory, that sees us all driven as automatons to respond in a competitive manner, as if we are helpless.

It was an incredible accomplishment for Darwin to parse out the complex process of evolution. Scientists are still trying to figure out the details, and they'll be arguing for some time yet.

Since we humans are a species that tends to be very competitive, we aren’t inclined to look upon cooperation as important (especially in a capitalistic environment). I believe, however, that cooperation is an instinct that we and other creatures settled upon long ago as an effective way to further the species. Yes, I'd like to see my genes flow into the future, and I certainly feel that inner drive to do so, but I also know that my success as an individual depends very much on the health of my local community. I benefit when the group is strong and it provides me safety, food, and a good place to live. If the group does well, I do well. It makes sense, therefore, that I should do what I can to help my group do well. I will place a high priority in doing so...maybe even to the extent of sacrificing myself for it.