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Evolution & Morality
List the traits that you associate with moral perfection.
Evolution & Morality
List the traits that you associate with moral perfection.
Altruism, honesty, love, sacrifice, bravery, loyalty, forgiveness….
Evolution & Morality
List the traits that you associate with pure evil.
Evolution & Morality
List the traits that you associate with pure evil. Evil: Selfishness, deceit, hatred, avarice,
cowardice, betrayal, spite…
Now let’s perform three thought experiments
First thought experiment
What will happen if you put a good person and an evil person together on a desert island?
First thought experiment
What will happen if you put a good person and an evil person together on a desert island?
A no-brainer! The good person will become shark food within days.
Second thought experiment
What will happen if you put a group of good people on one island and a group of evil people on another island at a distance from the first?
Second thought experiment
What will happen if you put a group of good people on one island and a group of evil people on another island at a distance from the first?
Also a no brainer! The good group will work together to escape the island or turn it into a little paradise, while the evil group will self-destruct.
Third thought experiment
What will happen if you allow one evil individual to paddle over to Virtue Island?
Third thought experiment
What will happen if you allow one evil individual to paddle over to Virtue Island?
?????????? A messy combination of the easy answers to the first two questions.
Simple but profound
The traits associated with goodness can evolve, at least when appropriate conditions are met.
Unselfishness is indeed vulnerable to selfishness within groups, but…
Groups of unselfish individuals are likely to survive and reproduce better than any other kind of group.
The outcome of evolution depends upon the balance of opposing forces of within- and between-group selection.
From a threat to a useful tool
Rather than posing a threat to the concept of morality, evolutionary theory enables us to identify the factors that can cause behaviors associated with morality to flourish.
2 experiments: artificial selection for egg productivity in hens
In both experiments hens are housed in multiple groups (cages).
• Experiment 1: Select the best egg-layer within each of 9 groups.
• Experiment 2: Select the best group of egg-layers in a population of 9 groups.
Within-group selection
Between-group selection
