Altruistic humans are detrimental to individual survival, but they contribute to the prosperity of the group as a whole, promoting social stability and progress. This altruistic behavior can be explained by the group selection hypothesis and plays an important role in strengthening social structure and solidarity.
In school and social life, we often engage in group activities. In group activities, all members work as members to achieve a common goal with limited time and resources with maximum efficiency or teamwork. However, just as individual abilities and accomplishments are relative, there will be some people who work harder and some who work less hard within an activity. In other words, everyone has different levels of effort, time, and commitment to a project. However, some people are more likely to take responsibility for the project or lead the group. This behavior seems like a loss of effort because the results of the group’s efforts are shared, not individual. However, altruistic humans seem to accept this loss and sacrifice themselves for the benefit of others. Therefore, altruistic humans seem to make very irrational judgments about their own survival and gain, and they seem to be taken advantage of by selfish humans. So, according to natural selection theory, altruistic humans should have a harder time surviving than selfish humans. However, altruistic humans seem to have continued to exist and will continue to exist in the future. So how have altruistic humans continued to exist? One theory that explains this is the “group selection hypothesis”. This will help us understand more about the emergence and nature of altruistic humans.
Before we talk about how altruism emerged, let’s talk about the survival strategies of behavioral traits. In order to survive in a group, individuals that have good behavioral traits compared to other individuals have a higher chance of surviving in the group because they are more likely to survive and reproduce. Conversely, individuals with maladaptive behavioral traits will lose the competition for survival and will not survive. Therefore, natural selection can be applied to the survival strategy of behavioral traits such that after many generations, individuals with the right traits will be the majority in the population. However, given the existence of altruistic humans today, this theory of natural selection is limited. One of the theories that explains this limitation is the group selection hypothesis.
The group selection hypothesis starts with the idea that altruistic behavioral strategies that are detrimental to individual survival are beneficial to the group as a whole. If altruistic behavior helps the group thrive, then it is beneficial for the group to have more individuals with altruistic behavior. This is especially true in groups where there is competition between other groups. In a group with a majority of selfish individuals, the few altruistic individuals will have a hard time surviving because they will be taken advantage of by the selfish individuals, and the group will eventually become dominated by selfish individuals. Such a selfish group will eventually become a group where selfish individuals do not coexist and compete with each other. However, in a group with a majority of altruistic individuals, the group grows faster than a selfish group because altruistic individuals help each other to survive. Even if the selfish and altruistic groups start out the same size, over time, the altruistic group will outgrow the selfish group and the selfish group will disappear due to the gap between the groups. As a result, the altruistic group will overwhelm the selfish group. In summary, groups with altruistic behavior as a strategy have a harder time surviving as individuals, but the group as a whole grows.
This is easily illustrated by the group activity example above. A selfish group with disengaged members for personal gain will develop at a slower rate than an altruistic group, and this will be reflected in the results of the group activity: the selfish group will score lower in the group activity, while the altruistic group will score relatively higher in the group activity. From this example, it is easy to see how a group with an altruistic behavioral strategy would be at a disadvantage in competition between individuals, but would have an advantage in competition between groups.
Moreover, we already know and are familiar with the group selection hypothesis. Since humans are social animals and have evolved through social activities, humans have historically limited the selfish behavior of individuals through moral education and laws that encourage altruistic behavior over selfish behavior for the good of the group. Education is necessary to educate the members of society, to encourage selflessness over selfishness, and to maintain society in this way. In this way, modern humans have lived a life consistent with the collective selection hypothesis. We ourselves have also experienced the benefits of being altruistic rather than selfish individuals in our social lives. Therefore, the group selection hypothesis is an attractive hypothesis for why altruistic humans exist.
However, there are limitations to the group selection hypothesis. First of all, the speed of group selection is slower than that of individual selection. It does not fully explain the survival of altruistic humans because the rate at which the group benefits from altruistic individuals is much slower than the rate at which altruistic individuals in the group die out. In other words, altruistic individuals are harmed by selfish humans, so it is possible that altruistic individuals die out before the group selection process has a favorable effect. Second, another limitation of the collective selection hypothesis is that if a group of altruistic humans gains from collective selection, we should eventually see a world dominated by altruistic humans over time, but this is not the case. This limitation means that the group selection hypothesis is not a complete explanation for the emergence and maintenance of altruism.
So far, we have discussed the group selection hypothesis. It is a theory that explains the emergence and maintenance of altruism based on the premise that altruistic behavioral strategies are disadvantageous to individuals for their own survival, but beneficial for the survival of the group as a whole. Although it does not explain the non-viability of altruistic humans due to the difference between group and individual selection rates and why selfish humans have not become extinct, the group selection hypothesis explains the emergence of social institutions and education for group maintenance because it applies natural selection from the perspective of groups rather than individuals. The group selection hypothesis also supports the emergence of altruistic humans through the group nature of society, which encourages altruistic individuals rather than selfish individuals. These advantages and our own experiences give the group selection hypothesis credibility and make it an attractive hypothesis for explaining the emergence and maintenance of altruism.
But how do altruistic and selfish humans coexist in the real world? In our societies, altruistic and selfish behaviors are mixed. Selfish people are part of society, but why is the influence of altruistic people so important? This is because altruistic behavior plays a fundamental role in the maintenance and development of society. For example, many people benefit from volunteer work or donations, and these activities strengthen social stability and solidarity. Whereas selfish behavior seeks short-term individual gains, altruistic behavior serves the long-term interests of society as a whole.
In conclusion, we can see that the emergence and existence of altruistic humans is more than just a survival strategy for individuals; it is an important factor for the development and maintenance of society as a whole. The way altruistic behavior contributes to the survival and prosperity of the collective is closely related to the structure of the society we live in, and through it, we can build a better society. Armed with this understanding, we should strive to encourage altruistic behavior and create a society where more people can benefit from it.
