The Basic Problem is Still Survival

The Basic Problem is Still Survival,

And an Evolutionary Ethics is Indispensable

Peter A. Corning, Ph.D.

Institute for the Study of Complex Systems

119 Bryant Street, Suite 212

Palo Alto, CA 94301 USA

E-mail: PACorning@complexsystems.org

Ph. (650) 325-5717; Fax (650) 325-3775

Website: www.complexsystems.org

(Prepared for the Complexity, Ethics and Creativity Conference,

London School of Economics, September 17-18, 2003)

Abstract: Biological survival and reproduction remains the fundamental, ongoing, inescapable challenge for all living organisms, including humankind; it is a problem that can never be permanently "solved." Indeed, an estimated one-third of the current human population world-wide is at serious risk from malnutrition and/or severe illnesses and disabilities, and there are many prospective future survival "megathreats," from rapid climate changes to water resource shortages and disease pandemics. Moreover, the survival problem is multi-faceted. As documented by the "Survival Indicators" program, there are at least 14 broad domains of "basic needs" for the human species, all of which constitute survival imperatives. Accordingly, every complex society represents – quintessentially – a "collective survival enterprise." As Adam Smith fully appreciated, we are (by and large) dependent for the satisfaction of our basic needs upon the skills and efforts (and ethics) of many other people. Indeed, as modern societies become increasingly interactive and interdependent, each of us must depend on an ever-widening "life-support system." Thus an evolutionary ethics – an ethics that serves our common survival and reproductive interests – is indispensable; it is essential to the functioning of a complex modern economy and society. In addition, it happens that there is also strong support for the role of ethics within evolutionary theory itself. Evolutionary biology has recently experienced a major paradigm shift as “group selection” theory, and in particular Darwin’s own theory about the role of organized social groups in human evolution, has reemerged and gained support. Implicit in this new paradigm is a revival of the age-old concept of the “public interest” and a political ideology that is focused on the concept of “fairness.” What I call a “fair shares” ethic entails three normative principles that collectively address the competing moral claims within any society for (a) meeting basic needs, (b) rewarding "merit," and (c) ensuring reciprocity/equity. (There is also increasing scientific evidence that fairness is a psychologically-grounded norm in human societies.) It could also be called “enlightened capitalism.”