Biology and Philosophy 7 (1):61-68 (1992)
Abstract |
I examine the relationship between evolutionary definitions of altruism that are based on fitness effects and psychological definitions that are based on the motives of the actor. I show that evolutionary altruism can be motivated by proximate mechanisms that are psychologically either altruistic or selfish. I also show that evolutionary definitions do rely upon motives as a metaphor in which the outcome of natural selection is compared to the decisions of a psychologically selfish (or altruistic) individual. Ignoring the precise nature of both psychological and evolutionary definitions has obscured many important issues, including the biological roots of psychological altruism.
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Keywords | Altruism evolution group selection selfishness |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
DOI | 10.1007/BF00130164 |
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References found in this work BETA
Taking Darwin Seriously: A Naturalistic Approach to Philosophy.Michael Ruse - 1986 - Prometheus Books.
Evolutionary Altruism, Psychological Egoism, and Morality: Disentangling the Phenotypes.Elliott Sober - 1993 - In Matthew Nitecki & Doris Nitecki (eds.), Evolutionary Ethics. Suny Press. pp. 199--216.
View all 9 references / Add more references
Citations of this work BETA
Reintroducing Group Selection to the Human Behavioral Sciences.David Sloan Wilson & Elliott Sober - 1994 - Behavioral and Brain Sciences 17 (4):585-608.
Why is Group Selection Such a Problem?Randolph M. Nesse - 1994 - Behavioral and Brain Sciences 17 (4):633-634.
Hominids, Coalitions, and Weapons: Not Vehicles.Jim Moore - 1994 - Behavioral and Brain Sciences 17 (4):632-632.
Adaptation and Natural Selection: A New Look at Some Old Ideas.Jeffry A. Simpson - 1994 - Behavioral and Brain Sciences 17 (4):634-636.
View all 44 citations / Add more citations
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