[Avodah] Morality Does Have an Evolutionary Advantage

[Micha Berger]

A paper recently came out in PLOS Computational Biology which argues that
morality makes evolutionary sense.
https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010429
More specifically, that "self-sacrificing cooperation" is a survival
strategy. Here's the "author summary" from that page, although the
formal abstract and the full paper are also available there.

    How do moral norms spontaneously evolve in the presence of
    selfish incentives? An answer to this question is provided by
    the observation that moral systems have two distinct functions:
    Besides encouraging self-sacrificing cooperation, they also bring
    organization and order into the societies. In contrast to the former,
    which is costly for the individuals but beneficial for the group,
    the latter is beneficial for both the group and the individuals. A
    simple evolutionary model suggests this latter aspect is what makes a
    moral system evolve based on the individuals self-interest. However,
    a moral system behaves like a Trojan horse: Once established out
    of the individuals self-interest to promote order and organization,
    it also brings self-sacrificing cooperation.

If you know what the Prisoner's Dilemma is in Game Theory but don't want
to wade through the whole paper, the summary included below from
https://phys.org/news/2022-11-moral-behavior-pays.html
may be of help.

I'm a bit of a Concordist when it comes to Maaseh Bereishis. (Concordism:
where one assumes that the science when properly understood and the
Torah when properly understood say the same thing. In contrast to
finding an apparent contradiction as "proof" that one or the other
system of knowledge is flawed. Or to be dismissed with respect to this
particular topic.)

So I have little problem with this paper -- it simply explains how HQBH
could use evolution to instill a yeitzer hatov.

But I have seen the supposed evolutionary disadvantage of self-sacrifice
used as an argument by those who take other approaches to the question of
Origins. This paper may force them to back off that one argument.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

   Phys.org
   Home > Other Sciences > Social Sciences
   November 18, 2022

   Study shows how moral behavior pays off in the end
   by Max Planck Society

   ...
   Mathematician Mohammad Salahshour of the Max Planck Institute for
   Mathematics in the Sciences in Leipzig, Germany, has used the tools
   of game theory to explain the emergence of moral norms -- because
   game theory studies how people make rational decisions in conflict
   situations. For Salahshour, the question at the outset was: why do
   moral norms exist in the first place? And why do we have different,
   or even contrasting moral norms?

   For example, while some norms such as "help others", promote
   self-sacrificing behavior, others, such as dress codes, appear not to
   have much to do with curbing selfishness. To answer these questions,
   Salahshour coupled two games: first, the classic prisoner's dilemma,
   in which two players must decide whether to cooperate for a small
   reward or betray themselves for a much larger reward (social dilemma).

   This game can be a typical example of a social dilemma, where success
   of a group as a whole requires individuals to behave selflessly. In
   this game everybody loses out if too many members of a group
   behave selfishly, compared to a scenario in which everybody acts
   altruistically. However, if only a few individuals behave selfishly,
   they can receive a better outcome than their altruistic team members.

   Second, a game that focuses on typical decisions within groups, such as
   a coordination task, distribution of resources, choice of a leader,
   or conflict resolution. Many of these problems can be ultimately
   categorized as coordination or anti-coordination problems.

   Without coupling the two games, it is clear that in the Prisoner's
   Dilemma, cooperation does not pay off, and self-interested behavior
   is the best choice from the individual's perspective if there are
   enough people who act selflessly. But individuals who act selfishly
   are not able to solve coordination problems efficiently and lose a
   lot of resources due to failing to coordinate their activity.

   The situation can be completely different when the results of the two
   games are considered as a whole and there are moral norms at work
   which favor cooperation: now cooperation in the prisoner's dilemma
   can suddenly pay off because the gain in the second game more than
   compensates for the loss in the first game.

   Out of self-interest to coordination and cooperation

   As a result of this process, not only cooperative behavior emerges,
   but also a social order. All individuals benefit from it -- and for
   this reason, moral behavior pay off for them. "In my evolutionary
   model, there were no selfless behaviors at the beginning, but more
   and more moral norms emerged as a result of the coupling of the two
   games," Salahshour reports.

   "Then I observed a sudden transition to a system where there is a lot
   of cooperation." In this "moral state", a set of norms of coordination
   evolve which help individuals to better coordinate their activity,
   and it is precisely through this that social norms and moral standards
   can emerge.

   However, coordination norms favor cooperation: cooperation turns out
   to be a rewarding behavior for the individual as well. "A moral system
   behaves like a Trojan horse: once established out of the individuals'
   self-interest to promote order and organization, it also brings
   self-sacrificing cooperation".

   Through his work, Salahshour hopes to better understand social systems.
   "This can help improve people's lives in the future," he explains. "But
   you can also use my game-theoretic approach to explain the emergence
   of social norms in social media. There, people exchange information
   and make strategic decisions at the same time -- for example, who to
   support or what cause to support."

   Again, he said, two dynamics are at work at once: the exchange
   of information and the emergence of cooperative strategies. Their
   interplay is not yet well understood -- but perhaps game theory will
   soon shed new light on this topical issue as well.