OK, just for
argument's sake, suppose
we're nothing more
than the sum total
of our genetic inheritance.
It's not as bad as it sounds.
There are passages in our DNA
that are every bit as heroic
as anything ever written
in any epic saga.
[low growl]
[gentle music]
[birds chirp]
[ominous music]
[growl deepens]
[dramatic music]
The mother is stotting,
deliberately putting
her own life in danger
to alert the herd
and buy time for them--
so that her offspring and the
rest of the herd can get away.
If this isn't heroism, what is?
And yet, this act of valor
is encoded in the Thompson
gazelles programming.
Does that make it
any less brave?
She risks being eaten in
order to save her kin,
and that's the key.
Kin selection is
that genetic impulse
for self-sacrifice prevalent
throughout the kingdoms
of life, even us.
Skeptical?
Then do this thought
experiment with me.
Imagine trying to
sleep soundly at night
knowing that your
children are starving,
homeless, or gravely ill.
For almost all of us,
this would be unthinkable.
But 16,000 children
die each day of easily
preventable hunger,
neglect, or disease.
Children continue to die as we
sleep well and watch this show.
They are far away.
They're not directly
related to us.
Now tell me you don't believe
in the reality of kin selection.
We will die to
protect the carriers
of our DNA and turn
away from the suffering
of those who don't.
Kin selection can inspire
us to die saving a brother,
but it's also the
drive exploited
by the demagogue
and the supremacist,
the us against them.
[inspiring music]
Another thought
experiment-- imagine
you're making the first approach
to a newly discovered planet.
You've used various
techniques to ascertain
that this world supports
an astonishing variety
of lifeforms.
You want to make
contact, but not
with their version
of a scorpion,
cobra, or great white shark.
You want to find the form that's
most likely to respond gently
with empathy and intelligence.
These macaque
monkeys are members
of what might be the most
compassionate species on Earth.
This was demonstrated in a
ghastly series of experiments
conducted in the 1960s.
15 macaques were fed only
if they were willing to pull
a chain and electrically shock
an unrelated macaque whose
agony was in plain view
through a one-way mirror.
If they refused to shock
another macaque, they starved.
After learning the ropes,
the monkeys frequently
refused to pull the chain.
In one experiment,
only a small percentage
would do so, while more than
2/3 preferred to go hungry.
One macaque went without
food for nearly two weeks
rather than hurt its fellows.
Here's the part
that really gets me.
Macaques, who had
themselves been shocked
in previous
experiments, were even
less willing to pull the chain.
Relative social status
or gender of the macaques
had little bearing on their
reluctance to hurt others.
These experiments permit
us to glimpse in non-humans
a saintly willingness
to make sacrifices
in order to save others, even
those who are not close kin.
