In our continuing series of inspirational sermonettes from (and for, presumably)Darwin’s followers, we learn not only that human brains are “ hardwired for empathy, friendship” and that “generosity leads to evolutionary success”, both of which statements are evidently untrue in life experience, we also discover that “Altruism may have origins in manipulation”:
In evolutionary biology, manipulation occurs when an individual, the manipulator, alters the behavior of another individual in ways that is beneficial to the manipulator but may be detrimental to the manipulated individual. Manipulation not only occurs in humans and animals but also at the cellular level, such as among cells in a multicellular organism, or in parasites, which can alter the behavior of their hosts.
Consider the case of the parasitic roundworm Myrmeconema neotropicum, which once ingested by the tropical ant Cephalotes atratus in Central and South America, causes the ant to grow a bright red abdomen, mimicking berries. This bright abdomen constitutes a phenotype manipulated by the roundworm. Birds eat the “berries,” or infected ants, and then spread the parasite in their droppings, which are subsequently collected by foraging Cephalotes atratus and fed to their larva, and the cycle of manipulated behavior begins anew.
There, that explains it all.
Where would Darwinian evolution theory be if people were not compelled to support it through their taxes?
If evo psych sermonettes were not exactly what you needed to hear just now, try this: