Page 54 - CULTURE IN THE COMMUNICATION AGE

RETHINKING THE FOUNDATIONS OF CULTURE

better. This goes against the interpretation that sociability exists because the
group is the central evolutionary unit. A group is formed to protect the indi-
vidual, not the other way around. For that reason, schools of fish and other
gregarious formations became a prevailing adaptive strategy in biological
evolution.
Just consider what happens if predation comes from the middle of a gather-
ing, not from its extremes. The prey runs away from the center, with the pur-
pose of enlarging the size of the danger zone separating predator from prey.
For instance, a herd of cattle is grazing when attacked by a lion coming not
from the margin of the group but from a hiding place in the grass. The group
dissolves itself (Hamilton 1996: 247). To avoid concentration, each individual
runs in a different direction. The kind of group formed is a direct consequence
of what type of predatory attack is unleashed. The group is never formed as a
result of a feeling of compassion for the other; it results from a sel fish intent for
preservation.

Animal groups: co-operation and conflict
within species
We must admit, though, that outright selfishness is not the sole type of inter-
action in nature. Groups are formed for the purpose of avoiding predation, but,
in due process, the original selfish sentiment can be modified. There are cases
of relationships, in animal groups, that must be described as ones of mutual
benefit. In such cases, selfishness is still a vital motive of grouping, but it is not
any more its exclusive purpose.
At bottom, mutual benefit is a variation of selfish intent. But there is more
than that. I can act in a selfless way because I will also benefit from my deeds:
generous charitable contributions will enhance my social status in the com-
munity, and will buy me a ticket to the Kingdom of Heaven. It pays off; it is
an excellent deal: I buy eternity with a transient donation. I sacrifice myself for
my offspring, but my genes will live thereafter. Sociability comes easier to
organisms that have genetic links. Social traits are developed in direct propor-
tion to the degree of kinship between organisms. Being good to my sibling, I
am also good to myself: we carry common genes.
There are instances, in the natural world, of collaborations between indi-
viduals that have no kin relationship, as in the case of the little fish Labroides
dimidiatus, which cleans up the mouths of bigger ones, and, in return, receives
protection from them in the event of a possible predatory attack. Trivers (1971)
postulates that, in examples such as this, co-operation occurs after many inter-
actions between specific individuals. Both parties have something to gain in
this situation. Trivers (1971) named the phenomenon reciprocal altruism. Slowly,
and if reciprocal altruism is successful, the number of altruistic organisms in a
population will increase. Co-operation and trust are learned and reached; they
are not an original legacy of natural life.

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