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Adam Grant's book Give and Take suggests that altruists acting over prolonged time periods bring not merely superior but optimal rewards to themselves and their
by m0llusk 8y ago
Adam Grant's book Give and Take suggests that altruists acting over prolonged time periods bring not merely superior but optimal rewards to themselves and their group. Group selection may also be involved but hard science now strongly suggests that altruism brings great benefit to individuals when the full situation is taken into account.
- toasterlovin 8y agoThe altruism things is actually pretty easy to understand with one simple fact: it takes way less energy to destroy something than it does to create something. So if you can have an arrangement where everybody agrees to just go about their business and create things, rather than constantly trying to destroy other people and their things, then it's hugely beneficial in sum. The caveat is that the viability of such an arrangement depends on an ecological niche not being at capacity; the game not being zero sum, in other words. If you're playing a zero sum game, then things become nasty and brutish pretty quickly.