Do Kinder People Have an Evolutionary Advantage?

[sparky]

In contrast to "every man for himself" interpretations of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection, Dacher Keltner, a UC Berkeley psychologist and author of "Born to be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life," and his fellow social scientists are building the case that humans are successful as a species precisely because of our nurturing, altruistic and compassionate traits.

They call it "survival of the kindest."


Do Kinder People Have an Evolutionary Advantage? | Personal Health | AlterNet

 

[JW Frogen]

Darwin never proposed every man for himself and would not have been an advocate of social Darwinism, he simply stated that species survive or perish due to the process on natural selection and this has a long term biological evolutionary effect.

If nature is more conducive to cooperation in time that is the species that will survive, if not it will not. It depends on the nature of the enviroment at that time and the other biological forms competing to survive.

 

[chanel]

I like that theory. I've always felt that "emotional intelligence" is far more important in life than an IQ score. We can probably look at many examples in our own lives where good people are successful in their careers and relationships and douchebags end up with substance abuse problems and/or in jail. There are always exceptions to the rule, but by and large, people who are kind will get kindness in return (especially when they fall on hard times).

 

[Dis]

Darwin never proposed every man for himself and would not have been an advocate of social Darwinism, he simply stated that species survive or perish due to the process on natural selection and this has a long term biological evolutionary effect.

If nature is more conducive to cooperation in time that is the species that will survive, if not it will not. It depends on the nature of the enviroment at that time and the other biological forms competing to survive.

Are you sober?

 

[sparky]

I like that theory. I've always felt that "emotional intelligence" is far more important in life than an IQ score. We can probably look at many examples in our own lives where good people are successful in their careers and relationships and douchebags end up with substance abuse problems and/or in jail. There are always exceptions to the rule, but by and large, people who are kind will get kindness in return (especially when they fall on hard times).

I'm sure your familar with the The Nine Types of Intelligence chanel....

 

[Sarah G]

Darwin never proposed every man for himself and would not have been an advocate of social Darwinism, he simply stated that species survive or perish due to the process on natural selection and this has a long term biological evolutionary effect.

If nature is more conducive to cooperation in time that is the species that will survive, if not it will not. It depends on the nature of the enviroment at that time and the other biological forms competing to survive.

Wow.

 

[Ravi]

Darwin never proposed every man for himself and would not have been an advocate of social Darwinism, he simply stated that species survive or perish due to the process on natural selection and this has a long term biological evolutionary effect.

If nature is more conducive to cooperation in time that is the species that will survive, if not it will not. It depends on the nature of the enviroment at that time and the other biological forms competing to survive.

 

[eagleseven]

Tell that to the thousands upon thousands of Genghis Khan's direct descendants.

Since when did the nice guys get all the girls?

 

[KissMy]

In contrast to "every man for himself" interpretations of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection, Dacher Keltner, a UC Berkeley psychologist and author of "Born to be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life," and his fellow social scientists are building the case that humans are successful as a species precisely because of our nurturing, altruistic and compassionate traits.

They call it "survival of the kindest."
Do Kinder People Have an Evolutionary Advantage? | Personal Health | AlterNet

This sounds a lot like John Forbes Nash game theory called the Nash equilibrium. I think this is the theory governments have been using for years now. They made it into a movie called "A Beautiful Mind". Seems to be a big hole in this theory exposed by the financial collapse.

I think this Nash game theory gave government the idea that helping the poor also helped the rich & everyone else. They made the rich loan to the poor with a bad track record & this was to make the poor productive responsible citizens who would in turn pay back the rich making them even richer thus creating economic activity that benefited the whole population. It did for a time. I think the problem is believing that everyone on the same team would continue to strive for the same goal. They believed most with a proven bad track record would permanently change their stripes & not slip back into self destructive behavior. It also assumed the already rich would not become even greedier & game the system milking it for even more.