Perhaps even simpler: it is adaptive to have a sense of fairness because you don’t want to be the jerk. ’cuz then everyone will dislike you, oppose you, and not aid you.
The biggest, meanest, monkey doesn’t stay on top for very long, but a big, largely fair, monkey, does?
It’s not difficult to see why groups would mutually believe in fairness: the alternative is fighting over resources, and fighting over resources destroys resources and kills people. But “being a jerk” is only instrumental … groups enforce norms of fairness and rule following by giving negative feedback to those who don’t follow them.
Not wanting to be a jerk is individually adaptive, but it’s more important to have an idea established system for avoiding conflict and allocating resources is adaptive at the group level.
Perhaps even simpler: it is adaptive to have a sense of fairness because you don’t want to be the jerk. ’cuz then everyone will dislike you, oppose you, and not aid you.
The biggest, meanest, monkey doesn’t stay on top for very long, but a big, largely fair, monkey, does?
It’s not difficult to see why groups would mutually believe in fairness: the alternative is fighting over resources, and fighting over resources destroys resources and kills people. But “being a jerk” is only instrumental … groups enforce norms of fairness and rule following by giving negative feedback to those who don’t follow them.
Not wanting to be a jerk is individually adaptive, but it’s more important to have an idea established system for avoiding conflict and allocating resources is adaptive at the group level.