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    Inverse View

    It is not the case that Evolutionary and cultural selection pressures instill unconditional prosocial dispositions, not merely context-sensitive repeated-game strategies, as Sober and Wilson argue in 'Unto Others'.

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    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
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    • 1.Apparent unconditional prosociality may mask sophisticated conditional strategies: we help when reputation benefits exist or future reciprocity seems likely.
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    • 2.Group selection theory faces severe theoretical objections; kin selection and reciprocal altruism better explain observed helping without invoking group traits.
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    • 3.Context sensitivity itself explains moral universals: humans evolved flexibility to cooperate across diverse environments, not fixed unconditional dispositions.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
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    • 1.Humans consistently show prosocial behavior even toward strangers and outgroups where repeated-game payoffs are impossible, suggesting unconditional dispositions.
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    • 2.Group-level selection for altruistic traits would favor internalized moral motivation over calculated reciprocity, creating stable prosocial character.
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    • 3.Cross-cultural universals in moral concern (fairness, harm-avoidance) point to evolved dispositions rather than learned context-dependent strategies.
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