Philosophy 152 Philosophy of Human Nature Darwall Fall 1996 WILSON III I It is a fallacy to conclude from sociobiology that human beings (or any species) has an overriding desire to pass on their genes, But still it seems problematic why any form of altruistic or ethical concern should exist in the species. How can it help our genes survival for us to care about others, or about such ethical values as fairness? II We can think about this with the game theory example of Prisoner's Dilemma. How are we able to solve these cooperative "games"? A. "Iterated" PD and "tit for "tat". But much of our interaction isn't iterated. What explains "one shot"cooperation? B. Fear of sanctions by others? But much of our interaction is in contexts in which others aren't in a position to sanction. And, in any case, what about apparently other- directed and moral sources of motivation. It certainly seems as if we can care about others or about fairness directly. III We can begin to see how such motivations can have a sociobiological explanation when we consider the sociobiological role of emotions more generally. Examples: hunger, fear. Is it more efficient from the standpoint of our genes that we be fit with information-gathering faculties and a desire for survival or with such emotions. In the former case, we seem to be subject to various forms of "weakness of will." Consider smoking for example. Passions and emotions give us vivid, short term drives that more effectively motivate beneficial action (although, of course, not always). Damasio's research on the brain basis of emotions shows that general prudential behavior for human beings depends upon current feelings. IV These are cases where emotions that prompt action that is beneficial to our genes. But might there be emotions that are beneficial to our genes even though they prompt acts that are not? It seems so. A. It is good for our genes that we be able to solve one- shot PD. B. People cooperate only if they think we are disposed to do so. C. It is in our genes interest that we be so perceived (Recall Glaucon). D. Such emotions as sense of fairness, altruistic concern, compassion may solve this problem for our genes. (i) emotions and detectability (ii) Robert Frank's research on ability of PD players to detect cooperators and noncooperators (iii) research on increased PD cooperation after conversation. Voilą, a sociobiological explanation of altruistic and ethical concern!