“Nice
guys finish first?” In fact, I believe they do. But the key word in that
sentence is guys, because even though Dawkins mentions animals and examples of
Prisoner´s Dilemma, that phrase only applies to human beings. Reason being there
are many other factors that affect the game. The life of humans is not
programmed inside a computer: it is not based on rules.
In
the real world, a nice guy is most likely to survive than a nasty person. But
the nice guy has to be intelligent enough and not let others fool him. The nice
guy would be the one to survive because most people tend to like him, while the
nasty guy is hated by most. A nice guy is friendly with another nice guy, but a
nasty guy is not friendly with another nasty guy. Also culture, society and
religion tend to accept the behavior of the nice guy. The Ten Commandments many
have to do with nice and forgiving actions. Few people are going to be nice to
a person that treats them bad. Why would I give candy to some one that did not
give me candy? But that is were forgiving becomes essential. If deny the candy
because it was denied to me then that person most certainly will deny be again
in the future. But if I give, regardless if I was denied or not, the other
persons perception could change. Most of the human population goes by the
strategy “Tit for Tat,” basing their actions upon the actions of others. It is
very likely that a “defect-defect” line will form because there are some nasty
people, but it takes the kindness and forgiveness of just one to break that
line.
Another
very interesting example that Dawkins gave was the “live-and-let-live,” that
Germans and British troops applied during some part of the First World War. He
mentioned that once “at Christmas British and German troops briefly fraternized
and drank together in no-ma´s-land.” (Page 225) This remained me of the movie War
Horse, also set in World War One. In the midst of the war, a horse sprinted
through no-man´s-land between a British and a German fort. The field was field
with a lot of barbed wire and the horse eventually got stuck and could not
move. Upon the scene, a British soldier raised a white flag and risked his life
to save the horse´s. He got to the horse and could not figure out were to
start, and then a German soldier came out to help his “enemy” save the horse.
Together they were able to save it, and when the job was done, they even shacked
hands. This is a clear example of “nonzero sum game.” Neither of them lost and
they even felt like they won something.
To
end this, I believe that this shows that even though genes may be selfish,
human beings are not. The population may be divided be varied opinions and
cultures, but a the end, it takes a random situation to end disputes.
No comments:
Post a Comment