Selfish versus altruistic behavior

Selfish behavior is widely recognized as the behavior most rewarding for genetic evolutionary fitness. The EACH project however, finds that altruistic behavior under the right circumstances can be beneficial for the survival of species over selfish beahvior. To show this, consider two types of asexual individuals exist in the population, differing only in their altruistic…

Origins of Behavior

First and foremost, human behavior is deeply affected by natural selection. Behavior which has resulted in successful reproduction and repetition throughout evolution ultimately survived and is utilized by ever modern human being today.  Evolution is a fundamental common ground for universal human behavior and can be regarded as a common heritage for all human behavior….

The Predator-prey model

The Predator-Prey model we use for simulation is a a simplification of an ecological system. It depicts creation and deceasing of agents and the consequential transformation of energy between agents within the system. For simplicity reasons energy is used as the ultimate currency of evolutionary fitness; being probably health, wealth and survival and reproduction opportunities….

Wealth as a heritage – cross country

Wealth as a heritage – cross country Economic wealth can usually be inherited through parents, family or other relatives. However, economic wealth can also be more indirectly inherited through the public institutions, technology and knowledge individuals can tap into, without any particular proprietary exchange. For instance, when someone is born in a western economy like…

The Cradle of Capital

The Cradle of Capital

When hunter gatherers roamed the world, accumulated manufactured capital was largely absent. The only capital around was human capital which accumulated through life time experience and natural capital. Since humans did not get old and intergenerational acquisition of knowledge was limited by the absence of written language, the stock of human capital had limited growth…

Regime Shifts

Regime Shifts

Example: From the Malthusian Era to Modern Economic Growth The transition from the Malthusian era to modern economic growth is a striking example of a regime shift. Until 1800 the economy could be roughly characterized as a zero-sum game for humans: wealth of (groups of) people could only gain or loose at the expense or…

Metaphysical principles of behavior
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Metaphysical principles of behavior

GOAL CONCLUSIONS FOLLOW UP REFERENCES GOAL The purpose of this post is to relate the principles of biological evolution to the laws of physics.  Background Evolution is often described in biological terms. There are however universal physical laws which also seem apply  to the principles of  evolution. CONCLUSIONS The two basic fundamentals of human behavior…

The principles of evolution (gutenberg)

The principles of evolution (gutenberg)

The purpose of  this post is to lay out general features of evolution which are related to human beings. These  features can give valuable insights in how evolution has shaped human behavior. Let’s define evolution as essentially change throughout time and let’s assume that these changes can occur by either physical  processes or by behavior of…