Co-considerational selfishness to self-orientated selfishness

Purely for you.

Working where both gain, mutualism.

Giving to others; rewarding when it is appreciated.

Going out of your way to assist.

Someone else’s pain addressed - you have less guilt.

Sacrificing something major - donating eggs, bone marrow or kidney.

Pure altruism – your last fatal act. 

I ask you this; does the appreciation of music give you an evolutionary advantage? What about tinkering with model railway lines. Or making a dolphin picture from an arrangement of sea shells? I ask these questions as some believe all facets of humans and humanity have a reason. A reason for being there. That does not seem to be the case. Some things are incidental and serve no purpose in relation to the survival of the species and procreation. Do iso-sexual people help or hinder the cause? They neither help nor hinder, they are irrelevant. Iso-sexuality has no major evolutionary effect. If most mothers were limited to two/three children, iso-sexuality could stymie population growth. However, the biggest factor regarding population growth has been infant mortality. Where diseases and illnesses have been brought under control the population has burgeoned, aided by mothers having in excess of ten children sometimes. Iso-sexual persons make up a small percentage of the population so make little difference. Many iso-sexual sorts deceive a partner. They live a nauseous lie, have children anyway, regardless of their iso-sexual persuasion.

Some evolutionary changes have helped a species expand. The rest are incidental. Evolution will find greater efficiency, greater reliability through trial and error. Honeycomb hexagons demonstrate this. However, the errors and trials take time, lots of births and lots of deaths. The faster something breeds, the more efficiencies you will find. Some trials make a difference whilst most have a negligible effect on how a species expands or contracts.

Whilst many features brought about through evolution are unnecessary for population growth, the drives are necessary. They are vital to our existence as a species and our existence as an individual. Our curiosity encourages us to try different fruits, nuts, and seemingly edible items. The more we try, the more options we have to call upon, thus enabling us to have a greater chance of surviving. Curiosity leads to a more varied diet. That’s offers us the greatest chance of living healthily. Boredom helps us. Boredom of eating the same things all the time plays a part in enticing you to eat more variety. You try other things to alleviate that boredom. We seek different things to do because of boredom thereby expanding our knowledge and capabilities as a person. The curiosity to explore led to the population spreading further afield. We began to seek out new lands to invade. A grander type of curiosity than others for sure.

The mechanism behind curiosity in all its forms is akin to the concept of a wheel. All wheels perform the same function whether attached to a train, a car, a bicycle, a tractor, or a shopping trolley. The wheels provide a mechanism to roll. The wheel provides the same action no matter whether on a car, train, or trolley. Each wheel looks different, but they perform the same function. When you see curiosity in the same way as the wheel you will grasp what I am saying. The wheel rolls whereas the curiosity seeks to fill in gaps in your head.

Small wheels, big wheels, slow wheels, fast turning wheels. Small curiosities, large curiosities. Curiosities that linger, curiosities that need addressing immediately. Curiosity powers the panic we occasionally have when we want to know - really want to know what we should do right now. Desperation, desperate for news, desperate for knowledge that a loved one is safe and well for example. Frantic, frantic headless chicken emulation. Curiosity, nonetheless, simply in overdrive.

Infants don’t get far without calling on the co-considerational selfishness principle. Parents plus those in the community get fulfilment from nurturing and aiding the young. That obviously helps the next generation to transpire. An elder offers advice and wisdom until they are put to sleep by an act of kindness/act of selfishness. However, I can’t fathom any evolutionary advantage in helping a person reach 100. Medicating, feeding them, hoisting them in and out of bed and providing them with an hour a week of jovial entertainment. It is done to avoid guilt. It is done for our pleasure and out of respect. Looking after others is rewarding, but there is not always an evolutionary advantage type reward in what we do. There doesn’t need to be one.

In all walks of life, we face battles of psychology. From self-confidence, caring about what others think. Through acceptance and dealing with rejection, to allowing love to take over. Resisting impulses and curating habits. Mastering things despite objections. Overcoming tiredness and boredom. Overcoming self-doubt. Getting through hard times and being capable of sharing joyful times. Battling guilt of the pleasure we are having - whilst others are struggling. Losing, failing, and things not going the way we want. Fear and trepidation of potential problems. Every game, every encounter, every decision will have a psychological element. If you delve a bit further, further than what you might normally do, you will see the philosophy as plain as day. In here you will find every-day, every-man philosophy to enjoy. It will assist in those numerous endless psychological battles, lots that you will be confronted with. So many mistakes and errors, delays and procrastinations revolve around a psychological war inside your head. There are things you can do it beautifully when alone but not when others are watching, or when the stakes, the prize is higher. Philosophy underpins psychology. Learn philosophy and you will be great at dealing with anything in the psychology field.

How many of us have lived for years in ignorance. Blissfully unaware perhaps. Do you want to be more confident about what to do, what to avoid, what path you to take. Do you want to be confidently true to yourself? If so, then what will provoke you to finish the book? Curiosity possibly. Will it be rewarding. Will it be for you and possibly so that you can help others too.


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