The Concept of Altruism in Evolutionary Theory and the      Social Sciences
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{'SignBlockName': 'Ronald J. Overmann', 'PO_EMAI': None, 'PO_PHON': None}
Under this grant, Professor Sober aims to clarify the concept of                altruism as it is used in evolutionary theory and also in social                sciences.  There are obvious differences between the concept of                 evolutionary altruism (and its opposite -- evolutionary                         selfishness) and the concept of psychological altruism (and its                 opposite -- psychological egoism).  To say that a trait of an                   organism is evolutionarily altruistic implies nothing about                     whether the organism has intentions or what those intentions                    might be.  Evolutionary selfishness and altruism are defined                    behaviorally.  Whether an organism is an altruist or an egoist is               defined by the consequences of the organism's behavior for itself               and other organisms.  The basic idea is that an altruist behaves                in such a way that it benefits the organisms with which it lives                at its own expense.  The psychological concept of altruism, on                  the other hand, is usually understood in terms of intentions.                   The psychological concept has to do with motivation, which may or               may not be reflected directly in the consequences of the                        behaviors that result. A second obvious difference between these                concepts is the "currency" in which costs and benefits are                      understood.  In evolutionary theory, an altruist must enhance the               survival and reproductive chances (the fitness) of others at its                own expense.  In the psychological case, this need not be how                   intended effects are conceptualized.                                                                                                                            These differences aside, there is nonetheless a conceptual                      problem that the evolutionary and psychological concepts both                   engender.  Both the theory of natural selection and the theory of               rational deliberation are maximizing theories.  Thus, it appears                to be conceptually impossible that evolutionary altruism or                     psychological altruism could exist.  Yet the existence of these                 traits should be determined empirically, not on an a priori                     basis.  Professor Sober will resolve this conflict by using                     techniques of causal analysis deployed in science.  The question                of possible explanatory relationships between these concepts will               then be investigated.
{'FirstName': 'Elliott', 'LastName': 'Sober', 'PI_MID_INIT': None, 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Elliott Sober', 'EmailAddress': 'ersober@.wisc.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000233397', 'StartDate': '06/01/1989', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}
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{'Code': '1353', 'Text': 'Hist & Philosophy of SET'}
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