Blog Post # 3

Recently the idea of altruism and selfishness has been explored by specialists such as Richard Dawkins and Olivia Judson . It is questionable to say that people are not selfish. The idea of saying that we would die for someone we love is not a new concept. When one is asked that question, most do not hesitate to say they would die for a family member or close loved one. The questionable part of this concept is why would we sacrifice ourselves for them? We would like to believe that the reason is because we care about our relatives, but many believe this is not the case. I agree with the idea that altruism is based mostly on nature and our genes. When people think they are being altruistic, research shows that they are often acting selfishly to preserve their genes.
Many animals often live together and protect one another. This is seen in many species of the animal kingdom, including humans. Animals of the same kin stick amongst one another. They live together to protect one another, not solely because they care for one another, but for the simple fact that they want their genes passed on. If they are able to protect one another and help save family members lives, their genes will be passed on to the next generation. For instance, male peacocks display their feathers to attract female peacocks. According to the author, it has been observed that "peacocks prefer to display with their brothers rather than with males they are not related to" (Judson 94). This is a prime example of an animal displaying them wanting to pass their family gene on. These peacocks do not mind in particular whose genes are passed along, as long as it is from their family.