tags: altruism
2006
September
2010
April
- 2010 Apr 6
- the glue of civilization
It's like some people completely ignore the fact that a civilization cannot survive without people giving a shit about other people who aren't related to them. The higher the proportion of stupid, selfish assholes there are in your civilization, the faster it will collapse. Cooperation with non-relatives is the only reason why we managed to evolve from the savanna and not get completely wiped out by other animals who are bigger and stronger than us. Behavioralists have classically called it altruism but, in reality, it's enlightened self-interest.
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2016
February
- 2016 Feb 17
- The Selective Advantage of Empathy
While Ayn Rand's writing is an exercise in sophistry trying to justify utter, base selflessness as the highest virtue, it is not only morally abhorrent, but it goes against what we know of human behavior.
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