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    Biological altruism cannot be equated with altruism in th... — Carmelics
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    Biological altruism cannot be equated with altruism in the everyday vernacular sense.

    Consciousness & Mind
    ?Rate how convincing each reason is below to see the overall strength.
    2 reasons for
    1 reason against

    Reasons For

    2 perspectives
    Reason for 1 of 2
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    • 1.Thomas Nagel's 'The Possibility of Altruism' grounds genuine altruism in agent-neutral reasons that require phenomenal access to others' interests.
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    • 2.Inclusive fitness models describe causal-mechanical population dynamics with no representational or intentional states as explanatory primitives.
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    • 3.A concept defined solely by causal consequence relations is categorically distinct from a concept whose extension is fixed by first-person motivational structure.
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    Reason for 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Ned Block's distinction between access consciousness and phenomenal consciousness entails that behavior-shaping states without phenomenal character lack morally relevant intentionality.
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    • 2.Worker bees exhibiting inclusive fitness 'altruism' possess no access-conscious representation of conspecific welfare as a reason for action.
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    • 3.Vernacular altruism, as analyzed in the Kantian tradition, requires that the agent's maxim include the beneficiary's good as an end, which presupposes representational content absent in biological fitness accounts.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Biological altruism is defined in terms of fitness consequences, not motivating intentions.
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    • 2.Everyday vernacular altruism requires conscious intention to help.
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    Topics

    Philosophy of LanguageConsciousness & Mind

    Connections

    2 topics

    Moral Responsibility2 linkedVirtue Ethics1 linked

    Related

    A concept defined solely by causal consequence relations is categorically distin...Biological altruism is defined in terms of fitness consequences, not motivating ...Everyday vernacular altruism requires conscious intention to help.Inclusive fitness models describe causal-mechanical population dynamics with no ...
    +4 moreShow less
    Ned Block's distinction between access consciousness and phenomenal consciousnes...Thomas Nagel's 'The Possibility of Altruism' grounds genuine altruism in agent-n...Vernacular altruism, as analyzed in the Kantian tradition, requires that the age...

    Similar

    Everyday vernacular altruism requires conscious intention to help.85%'Real' altruism requires the conscious intention to help.81%The contrast between 'real' altruism and merely apparent altruism requ...80%The concept of altruism in philosophy concerns psychological states su...78%

    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: altruism-biological
    View source passageHide passage
    This is a tempting line of argument. Indeed Trivers (1971) and, arguably, Dawkins (1976) were themselves tempted by it. But it should not convince. The key point to remember is that biological altruism cannot be equated with altruism in the everyday vernacular sense. Biological altruism is defined in terms of fitness consequences, not motivating intentions. If by ‘real’ altruism we mean altruism done with the conscious intention to help, then the vast majority of living creatures are not capable
    Extraction notes

    Validity: Extracted via Max plan + API grounding/validity checks

    Details

    Worker bees exhibiting inclusive fitness 'altruism' possess no access-conscious ...
    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (2 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit