Life (Part V): The Altruism
Until now, and without being aware of it, we have very successfully achieved our vital objective of surviving using altruism as the main medium.
In 1858 Darwin published his most famous book. The long and descriptive title of the first edition was: On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life.
In the book Darwin seemed to place the greatest importance on struggle and competition as a means for the survival of the fittest through natural selection. And that is how many of his followers understood it until today, i.e, Sir Francis Galton, Darwin's half-cousin, put eugenics into practice as a means to improve the species and promote its survival.
But I believe that Darwin never agreed with the idea that struggle between individuals or groups is the priority element of evolution, specially in humans. In 1871, twelve years after The Origin of Species, Darwin published The Descent of Man, where he said:
In his current most imperfect state, man is always the most dominant animal of those that have appeared on the surface of the earth... He undoubtedly owes this immense superiority to his faculties, to his social habits, which lead him to help and defend others, his peers, and the characteristic conformation of his body... The supreme importance of these characters has been demonstrated in the final result of the struggle for existence -Darwin.
You can appreciate that “The weapons” to be used in this fight are not conflict or war. And in the general conclusions, when talking about the “Foundations of Morality” he says:
It would be desirable that the general good or well-being of the community be taken as the norm of morality, in preference to general happiness... There is no doubt that the good and happiness of the individual frequently coincide, and a contented and happy tribe prospers more than the unfortunate and miserable -Darwin.
“In nature itself,” says Darwin, “we can observe, alongside the struggle, a series of other facts whose meaning is completely different, such as that of mutual aid within the same species. These facts are even more important than the first for the conservation of the species and its development”.
More recently, in 2010, neurobiologist Gerald Hüther [2] published The Evolution of love. What Darwin already suspected and Darwinists refuse to accept that expresses the main idea in the title.
The book begins with this sentence:
The most fascinating phenomenon generated by evolution on earth is love -Huther.
Then he reviews the history of love and its influence on the survival and biological success of humanity and confirms and expands Darwin's ideas on this matter.
I have focused on Darwin and two of his followers because he was, and continues to be, one of the least understood men, especially in this aspect of highlighting the importance of helping and loving others for the survival of the species.
But I would also like to highlight the works of Michael Ruse (1940...) Philosopher especially devoted to Evolutionary Biolog that together with EO Wilson [3] belongs to those so-called Sociobiologists.
I think he is the philosopher who has put the most interest in searching for the bases of Ethics in Biology. Ruse has also dedicated a lot of his work to Altruism, and says that humans have evolved to be social and altruistic stating three possible causes:
The instinctive altruism of social insects such ants and bees that was much studied by EO Wilson, specialist in hymenoptera and father of the concept of “eusociality”.
Trivers ' Reciprocal Altruism that acts after assessing immediate or future costs and benefits: “I help you and you help me”.
The third cause is that natural selection has made us moral altruists. That is what differentiates human altruism.
Two Bonobos mutual delousing as reciprocal altruism.
In recent years there has been a stream of scientists, the neuroethicists, investigating altruism in the brain. Among those I know, I would recommend the work of Donald W. Pfaff and his excellent book The Altruistic Brain. Why we are naturally Good (Herder 2017) where he says in the introduction:
I will show that the The brain is predisposed to drive us toward empathetic behavior and feelings that lead to altruistic behaviors.
Also very interesting are Stefan Klein, the author of The Generous Revolution (Urano, 2011), whose book is subtitled: Why Collaboration and Altruism are the Future, and Adela Cortina who is tireless in her desire to discover the foundations of universal ethics and has published in 2011 an excellent work on Neuroethics and Neuropolitics.
Forms of Altruism
Many wise men and saints, religious and lay, have enunciated and practiced different forms of altruism. Let me mention some of the most important and well-known ones:
The “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” from Leviticus 19:18, as the fundamental mandate of Jesus of Nazareth that confirms that of Jehovah in Leviticus and extends it to all humanity.
The solidarity and cooperation of volunteers and other people that support humanitarian NGOs.
Filial love, family affections, friendship, and mutual support.
The love of oneself that makes us take care of ourselves and be better to be more useful to others.
We also can add, among many other altruisms:
The Universal Brotherhood of the Illustrated
The Effective Altruism of the Oxford philosophers: MacKaskill, Bostrom, Ord.
The Collaboration and Cooperation of John Hands
Jonas 's Sense of Responsibility [4]
Universal Love by Edgar Morin [5]
The “Love and do what you want” of Saint Augustine.
The Universal Love of the Bhagavad Gita
The lives of the saints, both believers and non-believers
The enormous altruism of the normal lives of normal people
Group altruism with groups of the same species
Altruism of individuals and groups with individuals and groups of other species.
And all the altruism contained in the main philosophical doctrines on ethics: the virtues of Aristotle, the Good Will and Cosmopolitanism of Kant, the Well-Being of the Utilitarians...
What do we understand by Broad Altruism?
An earlier development of this concept can be seen on pages 40 to 54 of my book Survival and Altruism. A Universal Ethical Principle that I published in 2016. The following ideas were presented in a later update contained in my article Letter to Human Beings (Annex A).
As explaiened, there are many forms of altruism/love. I include them all in a single concept of Broad Altruism since they all have, biologically, the same origin and nature, and the same function as means for the survival of the species.
Concept
As we have seen, the term altruism is polysemous, although with some variants it is usually used as defined by the Royal Academy dictionary: as “diligence in seeking the good of others even at the expense of one's own.” For lack of a better one, I use the concept of broad altruism to include: Everything that is done or omitted that is good for another or others which will be good for the survival of the species.
Content
According to the above definition, all activities that are good for others are included in broad altruism: working, studying, trading, teaching, collaborating, caring, etc …We can consider also broad altruism the social virtues: cooperation, solidarity, honesty, justice, etc ... and those that make us better for ourselves and for others: generosity, industriousness, diligence, austerity, strength, charity, wisdom, etc..
Being altruistic does not mean being soft or avoiding reprehension or fighting when convenient: In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna recommends Arjuna fight with his brother who unfairly disputes the throne. And Jesus has no qualms about whipping the merchants who desecrate the temple.
Function
Another important idea is that altruism is only understood, biologically, as a means for the survival of species. Altruism is the most efficient and effective strategy adopted by social species to attempt the survival of their individuals and the species itself. In another way, some form of altruism is essential for the survival of social species.
Utility
According to the above, altruism is an intent element that social individuals use as a means to survive, reproduce iteratively, and improve their well-being and that of their group.
It is important to keep in mind that, with these ideas, the terms altruism and selfishness change the meaning usually assigned to them.
Types of Altruism
They can be summarized in the three concepts cited by Michael Ruse.
The instinctive altruism of Hymenoptera, studied by E.O. Wilson
Reciprocal altruism, immediate or deferred, by Robert Trives
Human altruism.
Besides, a possible altruism of all living beings, even unicellular, as an element present in their modes of reproduction since they donate half of themselves to create another living is being is cited by John Hands in his Cosmosapiens, and by myself on Survival and Altruism (pag. 44).
Self-love and self-care is also altruism. To, thereby, be healthier, wiser, and holier. I add two other S's to the three of my countryman Gracián: more smiling (more cheerful) and more solvent (richer) to be able to give more to others by loving them as oneself. We will give them a lot if we have a lot and love ourselves a lot, and we will give them a little if we have little and consider ourselves little.
Motivation to Love and be Altruistic
The concept of broad altruism includes all motivations:
The first is the natural inclination or natural law. That is, the genetic, epigenetic and cultural mandate or recommendation that each individual of each species and group has implicit in their vital programming. In man, in addition to instinctive and reciprocal altruism, there is the moral feeling that guides his conscience. See David Hume.
The other motivations are those resulting from the judgment of each individual in each particular situation: immediate or future rewards (material or immaterial), increase in social appreciation, self-satisfaction...
And the motivations derived from compliance with the laws, norms, customs and commandments of the groups and collectives to which each subject belongs.
Altruism is always interested and rewarded. Therefore, the wise and the saints, believers or not, are the most altruistic, and the most interested. Because being altruistic they are happy in this life and in the next if it exists. In fact, altruism is the intelligent way to be selfish.
The Vital Purpose and Altruism
As I said, I believe that altruism -any form of altruism-, can only be understood if it fits within the vital purpose of living beings: the survival of their species.
In each species, both at the group and individual level, there is the universal and priority vital imperative of the survival of the species. Simplifying, the strategies to achieve it, are two: altruism and struggle.
The most altruistic groups and species, ants, bees, men, etc …have a greater chance of surviving and to dominate the less altruistic species with their groups.
About Human Altruism
To sumarize, the two basic ideas of survival and altruism are based on observing the behavior of social species including our own.
We know that in man altruism has much richer and broader forms, content and extension than in any other living being, and I believe that this greater capacity to be altruistic that includes what we call pure love is possibly the greatest difference between human anture and other living beings.
This Altruism/Love can be elevated from means to objective when the group is all of Humanity. It is our implicit mandate, not yet seen or assumed by wise men and politicians. It is the commandment to love your neighbor and all your neighbors, and we receive an inmense benefit of it .
Yet, it has not been seen or assumed in practice, especially by those in the power, that our neighbors (current abd future) are all men, and not just those of our own group, regardless if our group is huge or small.
As I have said elsewhere, Development, Globalization, as well as the increase in Altruism and Love, in addition to contributing to the well-being and survival of the species, are possibly the right way to advance towards the “Full Love of Teilhard de Chardin and the Omega Point”, if the species of Man endures that is not guaranteed. But that question, perhaps more subjective, deserves a separated discussion. Then I will first write a following post about the specific things that should be done in the short term.
REFERENCES
[1] Corral, J. Supervivir: Ideas para una ética universal Pag. 260 to 265
[2] Corral, J. Supervivir: Ideas para una ética universal Pag. 271-272
[3] Corral, J. Supervivir: Ideas para una ética universal Pag. 183 to 194
[4] Corral, J. Supervivir: Ideas para una ética universal Pag. 123-124
[5] Corral, J. Supervivir: Ideas para una ética universal Pag. 216-224