Title: Is There A Natural Moral Sense?
1Is There A Natural Moral Sense
- Dr. Sally Ferguson
- Philosophy and Religious Studies
- University of West Florida
2Cognitive ethology the study of animal minds
- Imitative octopi and the conditions for the
evolution of culture
- Example is not the main thing in influencing
others it is the only thing Albert
Schweitzer
3Cognitive ethology tells us that our close
primate relatives
Communicate like us
4Cognitive ethologys next frontier ethics
- What features of our moral sense do we share in
common with other animals
5A central feature of our moral sense
- ALTRUISM or a concern for the welfare of others
even at the expense of our own.
6But WAIT!
- Evolution is selfish genes and nature red in
tooth and claw.
- Morality requires us to be unselfish.
- How can evolution produce morality
7The explanationMulti-level thinking in
evolutionary biology
- From the point of view of our genes
- sex is simply about replication
- but from our point of view it feels good.
- From the point of view of our genes
- food keeps us alive so we can reproduce
- but from our point of view it is tasty.
8The ultimate example family
- From the point of view of our genes
- the value of family is that it replicates our
genes
- but we reproduce because it gives us joy.
9Understanding evolved altruism
- If altruism evolved it is because it promotes
our survival and reproduction.
- But the evolutionary value of altruism neednt be
the value of altruism TO US.
10So far so good
- Morality involves altruism and
- Ok so maybe altruism COULD have evolved.
- But is there any evidence that it DID evolve
- One kind of evidence would be from cognitive
ethology.
- Our next question do other animals show altruism
11Cognitive ethology tells us that
- Altruism is common in the animal world
- care of offspring other than ones own
- food-sharing
- alerting others to the presence of food
- warning others of predators
- preventing disputes
- aiding reconciliation
- even protecting the disabled
12But is animal altruism true altruism
- True altruism is a concern for the general
welfare of others even those far removed from
us regardless of any gain for ourselves.
13Some animal altruism is kin selection
- Kin Selection acting to benefit ones close
relatives at the expense of oneself or ones own
offspring.
- Example Nursing lions
- Note the role of gene-selectionism in this
reasoning
14Some animal altruism is reciprocal altruism
- Reciprocal altruism acting to benefit another
with the expectation of a return of the favor.
- Example Political alliances among chimps.
- Machiavellian Intelligence Hypothesis Brain
growth in primates and hominids due to demands of
navigating social arena
15True Human AltruismThe Ultimatum Game
- The Ultimatum Game (Gintis et al)
- In the ultimatum game under conditions of
anonymity two players are shown a sum of money
say 10.
- One of the players called the proposer is
instructed to offer any number of dollars from
1 to 10 to the second player who is called
the responder. The proposer can make only one
offer. - The responder again under conditions of
anonymity can either accept or reject this
offer. If the responder accepts the offer the
money is shared accordingly. If the responder
rejects the offer both players receive nothing.
16Ultimatum Strategy
- Since the game is played only once and the
players do not know each others identity a
self-interested responder will accept any
positive amount of money. - Knowing this a self-interested proposer will
offer the minimum possible amount 1 and this
will be accepted.
17Ultimatum Surprise!
- However when actually played the
self-interested outcome is never attained and
never even approximated.
- In fact as many replications of this experiment
have documented under varying conditions and
with varying amounts of money proposers
routinely offer respondents very substantial
amounts (50 of the total generally being the
modal offer) and respondents frequently reject
offers below 30.
18Ultimatums Worldwide
- Twelve experienced field researchers working in
12 countries on four continents recruited
subjects from 15 small-scale societies exhibiting
a wide variety of economic and cultural
conditions. - The canonical model of self-interested behavior
is not supported in any society studied. In the
ultimatum game for example in all societies
either respondents or proposers or both
behaved in a reciprocal manner.
19Back to animal altruism
- Some is kin selection not general
- Some is reciprocal altruism not general
- Do animals ever show concern for members of their
group who are
- Not closely related and
- with whom they have no specific contract
20Some animal altruism looks more like true
altruism
- Food Sharing vampire bats
- Food is shared with non-relatives with no direct
payback
21More true altruism
- Signaling of predators and prey vervet monkeys
ravens
- Predators are signaled to entire colony at great
risk to signaler
22So far so good
- Altruistic behavior of all sorts is found in
animals of all sorts
- Kin selection
- Reciprocal altruism
- Even group concern
- Next question On a more general level what does
it take for evolution to get morality started
23Tit for Tat
- Robert Axelrod discovered by computer simulation
that tit for tat is the winning strategy in
reciprocal situations.
- Always assume a trusting position to start
- Punish cheaters but
- Dont hold a grudge
24Kitcher on Cooperation
- Grooming in primate groups
- Benefits more thorough grooming of places you
cant reach easily
- Costs Time and energy spent grooming others
could have been spent finding food mates etc.
- Risk You might thoroughly groom an individual
who doesnt thoroughly groom you back
25Cooperative Stategies
- Discriminating Altruist (DA) Always groom
anyone who hasnt defected on you in the past
and always cooperate. Never groom anyone who has
defected on you in the past. - Willing defector (WD) Always groom anyone (even
if theyve defected on you in the past) and
always defect.
- Going Solo (SO) Always opt out refuse to
groom anyone.
- Selective defection (SD) Always groom anyone
who hasnt defected on you in the past and
always defect.
26Kitcher on Cooperation
- What Kitcher showed
- Assume DA arises by mutation
- If only one DA then the mutation will likely be
lost over time since fitness benefits will not
be gained and only a 50 chance of passing it
on. - But if TWO DAs arise then that mutation will
spread and DA will come to dominate over time in
the population.
- Note that Axelrods Tit for Tat experiments
showed that DA is not the best strategy because
it is not forgiving enough.
27Conditions for the evolution of altruism
- Group value
- Living in the group provides benefits
(protection coordinated hunting)
- Mutual aid
- Members of the group can assist one another
(share food form alliances)
- Conflicts of interest
- What the individual wants is not always whats
good for the group as a whole
28Balancing Interests
- Claim one of the functions of our moral sense is
to allow us to balance individual and collective
interests when they conflict.
- Question how do our primate relatives balance
those interests
29Balancing conflicting interests the primate way
- Primates balance group and individual interests
on two levels
- Lower level One on one relations
- Direct reciprocation
- Reconciliation
- Higher level Community concern
- Arbitration of disputes
- Group-wide appreciation
30Lower level Direct reciprocation
- Grooming food sharing
- Alphas and lower ranks
31Lower level Reconciliation
- Making up after a fight
- Sometimes winners initiate sometimes losers do
32Higher level Arbitration of disputes
- Intervening before and after fights.
- Role of females in promoting harmony among males
33Higher level Group-wide appreciation
- Female chimp confiscates the stick one male is
about to hit another with and observers hoot and
celebrate.
34Primate morality
- The conditions for the evolution of morality
exist in our primate relatives.
- Moreover those relatives have evolved ways of
balancing collective and individual interests.
- To the extent that they have done so we can say
they have some of the elements of a moral sense.
35Reprise Is there a natural moral sense
- Perhaps if our natural moral sense is our sense
of altruism i.e. our concern for the well-being
of others whether related or not.
- We share this sense with other animals.
- The sense of altruism may ultimately be an
inheritance of evolution by natural selection.
36Humanitys uniqueness
- Superior strengths in
- Language
- Plus a
- Cumulative knowledge base
- Lead to more
- Self-consciousness
- Abstraction
- Absolutism