Will Empathy Save Us?. Aarssen, L. W. Biological Theory, 7(3):211–217, March, 2013. 00000
Will Empathy Save Us? [link]Paper  doi  abstract   bibtex   
Recent prescriptions for rescuing civilization from collapse involve extending our human capacity for empathy to a global scale. This is a worthy goal, but several indications leave grounds for cautious optimism at best. Evolutionary biology interprets non-kin helping behaviors as products of natural selection that rewarded only the transmission success of resident genes within ancestors, not their prospects for building a sustainable civilization for descendants. These descendants however are now us, threatened with ruin on a warming, overcrowded planet and our evolutionary bequeathal, in giving us empathy, may have also given us potential for resolve in guiding cultural evolution for the best interests of humanity. But can the latter trump the best interests of our genes? And if so, now that the liberal copying success of our genes is in conflict with the best interests of a sustainable civilization for our descendants, do the latter risk losing the empathic instinct presently called upon to save them?
@article{aarssen_will_2013,
	title = {Will {Empathy} {Save} {Us}?},
	volume = {7},
	issn = {1555-5542, 1555-5550},
	url = {http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s13752-012-0062-2},
	doi = {10.1007/s13752-012-0062-2},
	abstract = {Recent  prescriptions  for  rescuing  civilization from  collapse  involve  extending  our  human  capacity  for empathy to a global scale. This is a worthy goal, but several indications  leave  grounds  for  cautious  optimism  at  best. Evolutionary biology interprets non-kin helping behaviors as  products  of  natural  selection  that  rewarded  only  the transmission success of resident genes within ancestors, not their  prospects  for  building  a  sustainable  civilization  for descendants.   These   descendants   however   are   now   us, threatened with ruin on a warming, overcrowded planet and  our  evolutionary  bequeathal,  in  giving  us  empathy, may  have  also  given  us  potential  for  resolve  in  guiding cultural  evolution  for  the  best  interests  of  humanity.  But can the latter trump the best interests of our genes? And if so, now that the liberal copying success of our genes is in conflict with the best interests of a sustainable civilization for our descendants, do the latter risk losing the empathic instinct presently called upon to save them?},
	language = {en},
	number = {3},
	urldate = {2017-01-18},
	journal = {Biological Theory},
	author = {Aarssen, Lonnie W.},
	month = mar,
	year = {2013},
	note = {00000},
	keywords = {psychology, collapse, grief},
	pages = {211--217},
	file = {Aarssen - 2013 - Will Empathy Save Us.pdf:C\:\\Users\\rsrs\\Documents\\Zotero Database\\storage\\T73EBUKN\\Aarssen - 2013 - Will Empathy Save Us.pdf:application/pdf}
}

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