One of the world's leading game theorists has come up with an explanation for the orgy of goodwill and giving at Christmas, a feature of the seasonal good cheer that has baffled scientists for years. ...
In the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the scientists examine what they call "upstream reciprocity." Prof Nowak explains: "If someone is nice to you, you feel good and may be inclined to be nice to somebody else. This everyday experience is borne out by experimental games: the recipients of an act of kindness are more inclined to help in turn, even if the person who benefits from their generosity is somebody else."
This 'upstream reciprocity' - which includes giving to a charity at Christmas - may appear to be a misdirected act of gratitude: at first glance it only makes sense if you help somebody because they have helped you. The team's mathematical analysis shows that upstream reciprocity alone does not lead to the evolution of cooperation, which would help society to thrive, despite the simple-minded view that only the fittest should survive in our dog-eat-dog world. ...
"Our analysis shows that gratitude and other positive emotions, which increase the willingness to help others, can evolve in the competitive world of natural selection." Scrooge himself would have been impressed by their arguments which show how, even in a nature that is supposed to be red in tooth and claw, a person who has just received help may go on to help several others in "an 'epidemiology of altruism' resulting in an explosive increase of altruistic acts."
In this way, science has at last explained Christmas goodwill.
My good virtual friend, David Cohen, argues that Darwinism is a tautology in that it posits as proof that nature selects organisms for fitness (survival) the fact that they survived. I confess to feeling a little out of my depth when trying to apply this to the wondrous complexities of genetics, but it is certainly seems to be true about Darwinians who want lots of Christmas presents.
3 comments:
In our family, good deeds and favors that we can't repay, are passed on to others in the hopes, they too will pass it on.
Peter:
The results here are little different from various prisoner dilemma situations.
One of the first, and most powerful, social interaction characteristics humans display is reciprocity.
Watch 2-yr olds at play sometime.
erp: in my family, we pass on the fruit cake, which invariably is passed on to others as well...
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