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Psychological Foundations of Societal Survival

This chapter identifies the psychological foundations of societal survival. People's willingness to contribute to a web of cooperation depends on whether they consider themselves part of the web of cooperation at all. The critical concept here is the greater and lesser self. This idea derives from the Japanese philosopher Daisaku Ikeda and refers to the multiple ways we think of our identity. The most orthodox definition of self is the lesser self. As the self becomes greater, we think of other people's welfare as being just as important as our own. The question is, whose well-being is as important as one's own? It makes a difference if one sees oneself as an American or as a member of humanity. The more people share a larger conception of self, the more they are willing to make the contributions that make cooperation at that larger level viable.