Selfish vs Caring

Chapter 10 "You Scratch My Back, I'll Ride On Yours"
I believe that the title of this chapter summarizes it perfectly. In a way, it describes the partnership the different species have with each other and between themselves.  All the animals need each other in order to survive.  They will use each other, benefit from each other, and maybe even destroy each other in the process of survival.  An individual specie cannot survive alone.

The following terms helped me understand the chapter better:


Effect: (n.)  something brought out by a cause; a result
This word is found on page 168 and it is used to describe the result of what may happen to an animal due to their actions.  For example: "Nevertheless the act of calling seems, at least at first, sight to be altruistic because it has the effect of calling the predator's attention to the caller."


Social: (adj.) living together in communities or organized groups
Social is used to describe a particular group of animals.  Social animals are the type of animals that stick together and help each other out in difficult situations.  On page 171 he uses the word social to describe a couple of insects.  "The honey bee is just one example of a highly social insect. Others are wasps, ants, and termites or 'white ants'." "The exploits of the social insects are legendary, in particular their astonishing feats of cooperation and apparent altruism."


Cave Theory: (n.) "It is from the latin word 'beware' and it used to be used by school boys to warn for approaching authority."(page 169) Dawkins uses it to describe the reactions of camouflaged birds.  Here is the explanation he gives: "A hawk flies past in the distance.  He has not yet  seen the flock and he is not flying directly towards them, but there is a dancer that his keen eyes will spot them at any moment and he will race into the attack.  Suppose one member of the flocks sees the hawk, but the rest have not yet done so.  This one sharp-eyed individual could immediately freeze and crouch in the grass.  But this would do him little good, because his companions are still walking around conspicuously and noisily. Any one of them could attract the hawk's attention and then the whole flock is in peril.  From a purely selfish point of view, the best policy for the individual who spots the hawk first is to hiss a quick warning to his companions, and so shut them up and reduce the chance that they will inadvertently summon the hawk into his own vicinity."


Never Break Ranks Theory: (n.)  This theory is pretty much self-explanatory.  Dawkins uses this theory to explain animal behavior when being attacked.  In terms of pigeons, hawks usually go for the odd spotted one.  If the odd pigeon separates itself from the group, then it is an easy target for the predator.


Mutualism/Symbiosis: (n.) a relationship of mutual benefit between members of different species

On page 181 Dawkins states that it is commonly used different species have many "skills" they can offer in the partnership.  He uses the cooperation between Aphids and Ants as an example.  "Aphids have the right sort of mouthparts for pumping up plant sap, but such sucking mouthparts are no good for self-defense.  Ants are no good at sucking sap from plants, but they are good at fighting.  Ant genes for cultivating and protecting aphids have been favored in aphid gene-pools." (page 181)

These key words explain how the animals coexist together to form the universe.  I have started to disagree with Richard Dawkins on the subject of how selfish we actually are.  Yes, according to science, our genes have made us this way, but then how can he explain the Cave Theory or the Never Break Ranks Theory? The information he gives the reader does not really make sense.  If we are so selfish then why would a bird hiss to his companions in order to protect them? Yes, the bird benefits from doing so, but I am sure that there are other possibilities.  Our actions do not really make us selfish.  Yes, we put ourselves first, but we also care for others around us.  I would like to change what I have said in my previous two blogs.  According to science we are selfish monsters, but it does not have to be this way all the time. If we always take time to care and protect others, we are not always what Dawkins wants us to believe we are.  We can eventually change our "selfish survival machine" status to "caring organisms that sometimes put themselves first".