From Roger Arnold, Sunnyvale, California, US
Kudos for a cogent article on a vital subject: competition vs cooperation and the individual vs the group. Nature requires both. Without competition, evolution can’t operate. Without cooperation, it can’t produce interesting results(12 July, p 38).
As suggested, when we ask if human nature is selfish or altruistic, we are asking the wrong question. We are instinctive game players, equipped with a repertoire of strategies and behaviours. Those we deploy depend on circumstance, culture and individual experience. Genetic predisposition plays a role, but isn’t overwhelming. Where altruism is celebrated, we tend towards altruism. In places where sociopathic behaviour is tolerated or, worse, where the rewards it brings to individuals are taken as marks of status, we tend towards sociopathy. But societies that reach that point aren’t long for this world.
