Kin Selection

    Is kin selection the same thing as altruism? William Hamilton seemed to think so. George Price probably would too, and he killed himself out of despair for not finding true altruism after giving away everything he had (at least so the legend goes, it may have been more complicated than that). I think it's a bit oversimplified to say they are the same thing. I have found throughout my studies of history and science that humans tend to have a bad habit of oversimplifying things. Is altruism still altruism if you benefit from it, even unconsciously? Do we all even have the same definition of it? A psychopath might see it as a form of madness. Someone who is highly empathic can feel deep emotional pain when not helping others who are suffering. Is it still altruism if you're just ending a mental pain you feel from the suffering of others? Does any of this even matter, or is it all about results? What then if the path to Hell is paved with good intentions? These are questions I have long struggled with.

    Kin selection for those of you who don't know is the evolutionary strategy that favors the relatives of an organism even at a cost to the organism in particular. I myself technically practice it, at least so far. I have no children and don't plan on having any. This is for various reasons, one of them being my own genetic disease. I also want to further science, and I think raising a family would lessen that. I have however, helped out my sister with her daughters many times, they visit fairly often. My brother and his wife are now expecting, and I intend to be a good uncle (hopefully the proverbial "cool uncle") to their child as well. This would probably make my own evolutionary "strategy" kin selection as well. The thing that muddies this up a bit is that I am a big proponent of extreme life extension, and if I had my way in a perfect scenario I would download my consciousness and memories into a replicated body when it got damaged. I wonder what William Hamilton would say about such a scenario. Is your descendant a descendant if it's your clone? Dolly the first cloned sheep certainly passed on her genes. 

    I'm sorry this post seems to have more questions than answers, but that is because I am still grappling with this issue myself.  All I know for certain is that I love knowledge, progress, and the wondrous things it brings with it, and I love my family. I also love diversity, not just of genetics but of thought (which is why xenophobia, fascism, and religious bigotry horrify me so much). For me that means making the world a better place not just a drive, but a necessity.