Altruism

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the prevailing theories of altruism and attempts to develop a better contextual understanding of its core concepts. It discusses whether altruism fits into evolutionary biology and shows how altruism helps us understand how to create greater cohesiveness in society as well as encourage pro-social behavior.

From the Paper:

"Understand these evolutionary theories become crucial on a societal level to leverage the altruistic intent and evolutionary instincts within human beings. Societies and leaders need to understand that mutual altruism is the only way for the improvement of the group and the survival of the individual within the group context. By leveraging the knowledge of reciprocal altruism, leaders can create a convincing argument for why it is imperative for everyone to become active members of society. Kinship selection also helps in our understanding of group activity; leaders can utilize this theory to articulate a vision for the needs of a strong and interconnected community. Human beings as evolutionary creatures have highly evolved instincts for altruism. Perhaps one of the reasons that we have survived so long and past the prime of many other animals is our sense of altruism. Therefore to understand how altruism can help on a communal level, one only has to look at the sacrifices each individual makes in every aspect of community growth."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Hamilton, WD. "The genetic evolution of social behavior". Journal of Theoretical Biology. 1964,
• Maynard Smith, J. "The theory of games and the evolution of animal conflict". Journal of Theoretical Biology. 1974.
• Maynard Smith, J. "Group Selection". The Quarterly Review of Biology. 1975. 51:277-283.
• Rushton, JP. "Genetic similarity, human altruism, and group selection". Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 1989
• Sherman, PW. "Nepotism and the Evolution of Alarm Calls". Science. 1977.

More papers on Altruism:

• Persuasive Essay # 129818 : "The Nature of Altruism"
• Analytical Essay # 136833 : "Altruism and Modern Living"
• Term Paper # 121641 : "Reciprocal Altruism"
• Persuasive Essay # 94220 : "Altruism"

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