How empathy gets in the way of a better world with Paul Bloom
The TED Interview
Reciprocal Altruism and the Evolution of Cooperation
Reciprocal altruism refers to the benefit individuals receive from helping others, even if they are unrelated. This concept explains how cooperation can evolve when individuals help each other in expectation of receiving help in return. While kin selection is widespread in biology, reciprocal altruism is rarer as it requires coordination, memory of past interactions, and a range of emotions including positive ones like love and gratitude, as well as negative ones like anger and resentment. Evolutionary theorists suggest that without negative emotions, positive behaviors like helping others could not have evolved, as the threat of exclusion or punishment is necessary to maintain cooperation.
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