A new study on the human capacity for cooperation suggests that, deep down, people of diverse cultures are more similar than you might expect. The study, published in Scientific Reports, shows that from the towns of England, Italy, Poland, and Russia to the villages of rural Ecuador, Ghana, Laos, and Aboriginal Australia, at the micro scale of our daily interaction, people everywhere tend to help others when needed.
  • AccountMaker@slrpnk.netEnglish
    6·
    1 year ago

    Nice article. This was also argued by Kropotkin in his “Mutual aid”, I believe (haven’t read it yet).

    It does remind ne though of how Mencius argued that “goodness” was in every person. He stated that anyone, if they saw a child walking into a well, would rush to save the child without thinking about the benefits or drawbacks of such an action. So the “natural”, “reflex” action of humans, when we’re not consciously thinking about our actions, is to help others (what most cultures call “good”).

    Now whether that’s a way too broad of a conclusion for such a thought experiment, or whether people universally would actually save the child is up for discussion, but I found that line of thinking quite interesting.

  • Mambabasa@slrpnk.netMEnglish
    4·
    1 year ago

    That’s really interesting and resonates a lot with classical anarchist thought. Though postclassical anarchist thought particularly post-structural or post-anarchist thought rejects the idea of a a universal human nature or tendency, rejecting its prescriptiveness.

  • Lols [they/them]English
    3·
    1 year ago

    (for small requests)

    iirc ben franklin noticed that small requests actually make the person you request it of like you more

    the issue being that it does not seem to scale as far as im aware