Here's a question that haunted Charles
Darwin: if natural selection boils down to survival of the
fittest, how do you explain why one creature might stick its neck
out for another? The standard view of evolution is that living
things are shaped by cold-hearted competition. And there is no
doubt that today's plants and animals carry the genetic legacy of
ancestors who fought fiercely to survive and reproduce. But in this
hour, we wonder whether there might also be a logic behind sharing,
niceness, kindness ... or even, self-sacrifice. Is altruism an
aberration, or just an elaborate guise for sneaky self-interest? Do
we really live in a selfish, dog-eat-dog world? Or has evolution
carved out a hidden code that rewards genuine cooperation?
Listen to "The Good Show" from Radio Lab.