Evolution, altruism, and the prisoner's dilemma
Biology and Philosophy 7 (2):161-175 (1992)
| Abstract | I first argue against Peter Singer's exciting thesis that the Prisoner's Dilemma explains why there could be an evolutionary advantage in making reciprocal exchanges that are ultimately motivated by genuine altruism over making such exchanges on the basis of enlightened long-term self-interest. I then show that an alternative to Singer's thesis — one that is also meant to corroborate the view that natural selection favors genuine altruism, recently defended by Gregory Kavka, fails as well. Finally, I show that even granting Singer's and Kavka's claim about the selective advantage of altruism proper, it is doubtful whether that type of claim can be used in a particular sort of sociobiological argument against psychological egoism. | |||||||||
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Daniel R. Gilbert Jr (1996). The Prisoner's Dilemma and the Prisoners of the Prisoner's Dilemma. Business Ethics Quarterly 6 (2):165-178.
Alan carter (2005). Evolution and the Problem of Altruism. Philosophical Studies 123 (3):213-230.
Grant Ramsey & Robert Brandon (2011). Why Reciprocal Altruism is Not a Kind of Group Selection. Biology and Philosophy 26 (3):385-400.
Colin Grant (2004). The Altruists' Dilemma. Business Ethics Quarterly 14 (2):315-328.
Peter Danielson (2002). Learning to Cooperate: Reciprocity and Self-Control. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 25 (2):256-257.
Scott Woodcock (2006). The Significance of Non-Vertical Transmission of Phenotype for the Evolution of Altruism. Biology and Philosophy 21 (2):213-234.
Christopher Stephens (1996). Modelling Reciprocal Altruism. British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 47 (4):533-551.
Elias L. Khalil (2002). Is the Prisoner's Dilemma Metaphor Suitable for Altruism? Distinguishing Self-Control and Commitment From Altruism. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 25 (2):264-265.
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