Individual Responsibility as Favored Evolutionary Belief?
Evolutionary biologists sometimes come up with some fascinating yet essentially untestable make-sense stories for why we have certain biological or cultural traits. See, e.g., Daniel Dennett, Breaking the Spell (2006). In that tradition, I wonder whether a strong belief in individual responsibility might have been a favored cultural trait.
If an individual believes that what happens to people is primarily a function of aleatory factors, she is more likely to care for the offspring of less fortunate individuals. But expending resources on offspring not carrying your genes takes away from the resources available to offspring carrying your genes, thus decreasing the probability that your kids will survive long enough to have kids of their own. If, on the other hand, an individual believes that what happens to people is primarily a function of their choices, she is less likely to care for the offspring of less-well-off individuals. Instead, she can expend those resources on her own offspring, increasing the probability that they will survive to adolescence. Thus, ceteris paribus, individuals who strongly believe in individual responsibility are more likely to survive lean times and pass on their genes successfully. Regardless of its underlying soundness, a belief in individual responsibility might have had pragmatic advantages in the process of natural selection.
Of course, this argument makes some important assumptions. First, it assumes that the evolutionary advantages of a belief in individual responsibility aren't outweighed by the advantages of cooperation in lean times. And second, it assumes that a belief in individual responsibility doesn't have other negative behavioral consequences--a questionable assumption. After all, if you believe that your food production is largely independent of your effort, you'll probably exert less effort than someone who sees her food production as closely tied to her effort. Third, it assumes that communities have understood the logical nexus between sources of causation and conceptions of responsibility for a long enough period for evolution to work its magic.
I'm sure someone's made this argument before. Thoughts/responses/critiques?
If an individual believes that what happens to people is primarily a function of aleatory factors, she is more likely to care for the offspring of less fortunate individuals. But expending resources on offspring not carrying your genes takes away from the resources available to offspring carrying your genes, thus decreasing the probability that your kids will survive long enough to have kids of their own. If, on the other hand, an individual believes that what happens to people is primarily a function of their choices, she is less likely to care for the offspring of less-well-off individuals. Instead, she can expend those resources on her own offspring, increasing the probability that they will survive to adolescence. Thus, ceteris paribus, individuals who strongly believe in individual responsibility are more likely to survive lean times and pass on their genes successfully. Regardless of its underlying soundness, a belief in individual responsibility might have had pragmatic advantages in the process of natural selection.
Of course, this argument makes some important assumptions. First, it assumes that the evolutionary advantages of a belief in individual responsibility aren't outweighed by the advantages of cooperation in lean times. And second, it assumes that a belief in individual responsibility doesn't have other negative behavioral consequences--a questionable assumption. After all, if you believe that your food production is largely independent of your effort, you'll probably exert less effort than someone who sees her food production as closely tied to her effort. Third, it assumes that communities have understood the logical nexus between sources of causation and conceptions of responsibility for a long enough period for evolution to work its magic.
I'm sure someone's made this argument before. Thoughts/responses/critiques?
posted by Garrett at 7:42 PM
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