THE

UNSELFISH
GENE

Presented By: GROUP 2

Baibhav Jena (UM16017)
Bauddheya Baliarsingh
(UM16018)
Debasish Patnaik
(UM16019)
Bikram Mishra (UM16021)
THE SELFISH NATURE OF HUMANS
3 fundamental principles- 1. Mutation, 2. Natural Selection and 3. NATURAL
COOPERATION
Thomas Hobbess Leviathan : Humans are Fundamentally and Universally
Selfish
Adam Smiths Invisible Hand : The self interested and rational and
weighted decision making tend to serve the common good
Though their prescriptions are different, the Leviathan and Invisible Hand
have the same starting point Humankinds Selfishness
Idea began to change Humans were seen as naturally cooperative
Elinor Ostrom showed how humans can sustain themselves for centuries as
well functioning systems
The Success of the commons people of Spain and United States
THE CHANGING NATURE
The fall of organisations Britannica Encyclopaedia and Encarta
The Rise of Organisations :
Wikipedia
Yelp
TripAdvisor
Open Source Software APACHE
Google, Facebook ,Craiglist found ways to become profitable by
engaging people
Recent studies show 30% people are selfish
50% people systematically and predictably behave cooperatively
Remaining 20% are unpredictable
Human behaviour can help design better and efficient systems
THE SCIENCE OF COOPERATION
WHAT ACCOUNTS FOR HUMAN
COOPERATION?
Theory of kin selection
Human beings will incur costs only to save others who carry their genes
Observation in wild (Opposing Theory)
The cooperation between coyote and honey badger to catch squirrel even
though only one or the other would eat the prey
The coevolution of genes and cultures
Twin experiment- To prove identical twins having relatively same gene than
non identical ones behave in a similar way for most of the time
Social system makes someone with specific genes more desirable to mate
than others and soon the system produces more of those specific genes.
Neuroscience
Cognitively and emotionally, we may be able to feel what others are
feeling
Cooperation triggers the reward centre in our brains.
More prominent brain activity while playing with a human being than
playing a computer game
THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF
COOPERATIVE SYSTEMS

COMMUNICATION
When people communicate, they feel empathetic and more
trusting
Reach solutions faster

FRAME AND AUTHENTICITY

It is important that frame fits reality

EMPATHY AND SOLIDARITY

More empathy and solidarity more likely to account for
others interests
Solidarity with a group likely to sacrifice our interest for the
collective
Role of Team Spirit
THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF
COOPERATIVE SYSTEMS
THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF
COOPERATIVE SYSTEMS

REPUTATION AND RECIPROCITY

Cooperation hinges on long term reciprocity, both direct and
indirect
Systems relying on reciprocity are enormously valuable but
easily corrupted
Reputation is the most powerful tool against this

DIVERSITY
Systems that harness diverse motivations are more
productive than material payoff systems
Cooperative systems need to be flexible
DEBUNKING THE MYTH OF
SELFISHNESS

Four reasons the belief of selfishness still exists are :

PARTIAL TRUTH
Moments when we have chosen to serve our own
interests over the interests of others
We consider a partial truth as a whole

IT IS HISTORY
Roots of assumption about universal selfishness are as
old as human culture
DEBUNKING THE MYTH OF
SELFISHNESS

IT IS SIMPLE
Human beings seek simple explanations for a complex
world
Psychological concept of Cognitive fluency the
tendency to hold on to things that are simple to
understand and remember

IT IS A HABIT
Human beings have been educated and socialized to
think in terms of universal selfishness
Self-centered whats in it for me?
Tend to interpret all the evidence we encounter to fit
our preconceptions and assumptions
IN TODAYS WORLD

Adaptability, creativity and innovativeness preconditions for

organisations and individuals to survive

People arent focussed on payoffs they learn, adapt, improve

and deliver results for the organisation

People are internally motivated bring in insight, creativity and

innovation

Cooperative systems include conscience and authentic

humanity, along with creativity, flexibility and diversity