You are probably familiar with the expression "altruism is the highest degree of selfishness." Before foaming at the mouth to prove otherwise, read the opinion of scientists.
The latest scientific research proves that the tendency of people to honest and decent actions is not a consequence of upbringing, it is present even among children who do not understand that their actions can be called correct and fair. Moreover, our distant ancestors - primates and some other mammals - have a sense of justice. The desire for equality between members of a social group is caused not so much by decency or kindness as by people's concern for themselves - after all, a stable and calm environment in society is beneficial to every individual belonging to it.
1. Decency is a natural property
According to the hypothesis of evolution put forward by Darwin, human behavior should be aimed at increasing the adaptability of the species to conditions and the environment and, as a consequence, the survival of the maximum number of related individuals. That is, a person needs to take care only of his own interests and the distribution of benefits between his relatives, as this contributes to the successful reproduction of descendants, carriers of his set of genes. Nevertheless, for example, children, when sharing a treat with all their kindergarten group mates, act to their detriment and in some sense contradict their evolutionary interests.
It is curious that the natural desire of children for justice, their aversion to inequality and adherence to the principles of egalitarianism (the idea that all members of society should have equal opportunities) are often interfered with by parents who force the child to behave honestly and fairly and severely punish him for disobedience. The paradox is explained by the fact that it is much easier for a person to follow his own desires than rules imposed from outside. In response to the "teaching of honesty", the child begins to act contrary to parental instructions, although the sense of justice and responsiveness in him was originally laid down by nature itself.
A person has always been and will be a part of society, therefore, prosocial behavior is natural for him, regardless of whether it increases the survival rate of his offspring or not. This is evidenced by the fact that children try to avoid inequality among their own kind, not knowing about "decency", that in society such actions are considered "right".
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2. Cooperation promotes equality
The latest issue of Science published the results of a study by Sarah Brosnan of Georgia State University and Frans de Waal of Emory University (Atlanta, USA). In their work, specialists tried to find out how the perception of justice and injustice changed in the course of evolution. Brosnan and de Waal analyzed a large amount of data on the reactions of humans and animals to rewards for completing various tasks - in some cases, the subjects received more rewards than other participants in the experiments for successfully completing the same task, and in others they were deprived of them, giving less reward. … The participants in the experiment were primates, canids, birds and fish.
Sarah Brosnan.
It was found that the most obvious indignation at the unfavorable injustice of the distribution of awards (for example, when others got large pieces of bananas) are shown by representatives of those species within which there is cooperation between individuals that are not in a kinship or marriage relationship - these include, for example, humans, chimpanzees, capuchins (a genus of monkeys) and some canines. At the same time, for example, dissatisfaction with profitable injustice is much less common in animals - scientists have noticed that only humans and chimpanzees experience discomfort if they receive a greater reward than other members of their species who completed the same task.
3. Fairness is beneficial
Sarah Brosnan and Frans de Waal suggest that the pursuit of justice, even at the expense of oneself, can be explained by attempts to prevent the discontent of other members of the social group and thereby avoid possible negative consequences, the main of which are conflicts and the termination of cooperation. Loss of reputation as an honest and just member of society reduces the chances of future mutually beneficial partnerships, so in the opinion of Sarah and Frans, when a person adheres to the notorious "fair play", he is not doing it for the sake of justice, as such. but for potential benefits.
Since negative reactions to beneficial injustice are found only in Homo sapiens and their closest genetic relatives Pan troglodytes (common chimpanzee), Sarah Brosnan and Frans de Waal hypothesized that this trait was one of the most important milestones in the evolution of the sense of justice in primates and ultimately it led to the emergence of a heightened perception of justice in people.
Every day, people do heroic and selfless acts - saving strangers from deadly dangers, donating huge sums of money to charity, or for example, becoming donors, inspiring and delighting other members of society. It may sound blasphemous, but it is likely that heroes act out of their own interests, even if they are not aware of it - thus improving their reputation and increasing the chances of working with other people - a phenomenon known as indirect reciprocity. Examples of pro-social behavior have a beneficial effect on society, pushing people to commit selfless actions.