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Books

Does Altruism Exist? by David Sloan Wilson

William Irwin asks if pure ethics exists at all.

Does Altruism Exist? poses an important question of enduring interest in both philosophy and biology. On one level – the level of outward action – the answer is obviously yes. If all we mean by ‘altruism’ is ‘performing actions that benefit others’, then clearly altruism exists. From an evolutionary perspective, however, there is still something in need of explanation: If making the sacrifices necessary to help others costs an organism without benefitting that organism, why would it take such actions? Why, for example, would a mother lion feed and care for her offspring?

For some time the dominant explanation in evolutionary biology has been the selfish gene theory popularized by Richard Dawkins, according to which genes are the basis for selection. Thus while it may not be in the interest of a particular lion to expend resources to feed and protect her young, it is in the interest of the mother’s genes that she do so, and so lions, like other animals, have evolved instincts to feed their young.

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