(May 29, 2022 at 11:22 am)Fake Messiah Wrote:(May 29, 2022 at 8:31 am)Jehanne Wrote: I think that "cooperation" is a somewhat loaded term. The Romans, for instance, were willing to "cooperate" with conquered peoples (and, in doing so, pioneered federalism), so long as the latter did so on Rome's terms; otherwise, the legions would come and destroy you for your lack of "cooperation".
So what are you trying to say? That tribalism exists? Morality is not the only thing that evolved, but so did cruelty.
Cruelty also has evolutionary value. Kindness does too. But we can’t have both at the same time. We still compete and struggle with each other: for food, sexual reproduction, loving acknowledgment, dignity; and we often do it together as a tribe against tribe.
In my opinion, past and present human behavior, individual and collective, can be described by modern game theory. We, as a species, cooperate when such is in our self-interests to do so; we sometimes conquer and destroy when such is in our self-interests. Religious, philosophical, political and/or economic systems often provide the justifications for both scenarios.
