Leo the dog made world news yesterday for saving a litter of kittens in a house fire in Melbourne. People are alsways surprised by altruism in nature and especially interspecies solidarity. Proving again Kropotkin's theory of Mutual Aid.
And in this case a male dog refused to abandon helpless young kittens, showing that nuturing is not simply a matter of biological destiny,mothering, males too nuture the young.
Compassion is a necessary outcome of social life. But compassion also means
a considerable advance in general intelligence and sensibility. It is the first
step towards the development of higher moral sentiments. It is, in its turn, a
powerful factor of further evolution.
Chapter 2 Mutual Aid Among Animals
Mutual Aid: A Factor of
Evolution
Peter Kropotkin 1902
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1 comment:
It is possible in my view that cooperation is a outcome of competition in the Darwinian sense. If a species is sufficiently complex the variability between individuals means that everyone is better or worse than someone else at something. Therefore there could be a need to form social "compacts" between individuals to gain access to those abilities just like a sense of humour is a kind of stylized aggression at times helping to maintain cohesion. Some animals can also express humour or feel embarassed at some level.
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