3 ms·
Virtual World Study Reveals The Origin of Good and Evil Behaviour
- ajitk 15y agoQuoting from the article: Thurner and co found that positive behaviour intensifies after an individual receives a positive action. "The probability of acting out negative actions is about 10 times higher if a person received a negative action at the previous timestep than if she received a positive action," they say. "We interpret these findings as empirical evidence for self organization towards reciprocal, good conduct within a human society," they say. In other words, humanity is fundamentally good.
- pasbesoin 15y agoSome conjectures (frankly, after having just read the title): + Good and bad are both cascade effects. + Religion might be seen as a device to "generate" a good motive albeit one external to the immediate environment/circumstance, the goal being to promote "good" behavior in the face of / despite being the recipient of "bad" behavior or circumstances. (The follow on questions might be what is defined as "good" behavior and whom is it benefiting.) + Our actions do indeed affect others, and perhaps not just those we are immediately involved with. + Altruism is about bettering the environment within which we exist. Note also that, per the link at the end of the article, this study is not behind a paywall: http://arxiv.org/abs/1107.0392 http://arxiv.org/abs/1107.0392