Altruism

Altruism, one of the most important values considered in human interaction, turned out to also play a role in the animal kingdom. Altruism can be observed in animal behavior when animals act in ways that reduce their fitness to increase the fitness of others. For instance, a meerkat makes an alarm call when it senses a predator nearby, to warn its group, even though this action might increase its own risk. I remember coming across a similar example during a documentary I watched about animal altruism, and I was struck by how brave these animals seemed, putting themselves at risk for the safety of their group. It made me wonder how far I could go to protect the people around me. I got to question myself, “Would I be able to sacrifice my life for another person? Even if that person isn’t related to me? And if my answer is no, would that mean that I am selfish?” These thoughts have lingered with me, especially when I was reading about how much value we place on human altruism. 

What intrigued me more in this topic, was the concept of reciprocal altruism, which is when animals help unrelated individuals with the expectation that favor will be repaid in the future. For instance, vampire bats which must be fed within 70 hours to avoid starvation, build reciprocal relationships and share blood with other bats who have shared with them in the past, expecting a return favor later in the future. This example reminded me of situations in my own life when people often seem to help each other with unspoken assumptions that they might need a favor in return later. It made me think about the relationships between human beings, where ‘give and take’ is a subtle but constant underlying dynamic. And it was more interesting to know that these thoughts exist in other animals too. So are these animal altruistic behaviors biologically selfless? Or are they just doing their best to pass on their genes through relatives? This question reminded me of the book “The Selfish Gene” I have read in the past, arguing, as it says in the title, that all genes are selfish. Meaning that any behavior, no matter how altruistic it may appear, might be driven by the gene’s desire to survive and replicate.

As I have learned in AP Biology class and Environmental Biology class, Darwin’s theory of evolution, driven by natural selection, could be summarized by the phrase ‘survival of the fittest.’ However, for me, behaviors like altruism in animals did not seem, at first, to align with the concept of natural selection since such behaviors can decrease the individual's survival. So if the goal of evolution was to increase individual fitness, then why hasn’t natural selection removed altruistic behaviors from the gene pool? 

The answer lies in the genetic and evolutionary advantages that altruistic behaviors can provide. In the case of kin selection, an individual’s self-sacrificial behavior benefits the survival of close relatives who share the same genes. For example, when a meerkat issues an alarm call to warn its family group, the signaling gene can persist in the population through the surviving relatives, even if the caller doesn’t survive. Thus, while the behavior may appear altruistic on the surface, I think it could be interpreted as genetically selfish because the gene promoting the behavior still achieves its primary goal of being passed on to the next generation. Similarly, in wolf packs, non-dominant wolves hunt and bring back the food to feed the pups of the alpha male, who are responsible for the majority of reproduction in the pack. So, by helping the alpha wolf’s pups, these wolves are ensuring the survival of the pack’s shared genes.

For reciprocal altruism, animals help non-relatives with the anticipation that the favor will be reciprocated. This mutualistic exchange works to maintain the survival of the individual against future scarcity. For instance, vampire bats that share blood are more likely to receive help in the future if they fail to find food. Over time, reciprocal altruism would establish a network of cooperation, increasing the overall chances of survival for those who participate in this exchange. We humans also often unconsciously keep track of every favor we give out or receive, there’s always an underlying expectation that we live in a social network of mutual support. And reading about these behaviors of vampire bats made me think about how instinctive and ancient this phenomenon might be. It was fascinating to think that the patterns we see in our daily lives may have evolved from deeply rooted biological mechanisms, shared by creatures as different from us as bats.

Writing this essay deepened my understanding of the evolutionary origins of altruistic behavior, making me realize that actions often perceived as ‘selfless’ may be driven by selfish genetic motivations. I found the concept of altruism in animals particularly intriguing, especially since I could think and question myself about whether it was truly a selfless act or a behavior regulated by selfish genes. I also began to think back on instances of human altruism, such as people risking their lives to save strangers, and I wondered if our behaviors follow the same principle as other animals.