Problem
Read the article "Why We Help" by Martin Nowak. While people often assume that humans are innately competitive, we notice the competition because it's the exception, rather than the rule. In the vast majority of human interactions, we interact in cooperative ways, which Nowak argues has been key to our species' survival.
Respond to this reading by answering one or more of the following:
A. Why does evolution by natural selection generally explain selfish behavior in nature?
B. How does Nowak describe direct reciprocity? Explain how it developed in his models, what it is, and where its seen in nature.
C. Describe why its thought that cooperation has been part of evolution from the start of life on earth.
D. What mechanism do humans use and why does this make us especially helpful? Explain how and why this has benefited individual humans and our species, as a whole.