Hi Polojko,

Ramble away! I appreciate the discussion.

I haven't studied the way herd and other group animals behave, but my sense of the difference is that Humans will make sacrifices for strangers, whereas typical group species do so only as far as it is directly and immediately advantageous to them personally. Prosociality, as I think it’s called, is the thing that is only found in bees, wasps, termites, us, etc. It takes cooperation a step further.

I think there is an illusion that we are cooperating less today, but this is only because we cooperate within mega-tribes in an indirect, industrial manner, for which we did not evolve. We are all completely dependant upon the efforts of every other productive person in the world. Even staunch individualists go into the wilderness to survive “alone” with knives, clothes, and knowledge supplied by group effort. It looks very different, but is still a form of cooperation upon which our survival depends.

I agree with your comment that big groups tolerate selfishness more than small groups, and this may be our biggest threat. Reorganizing into smaller groups within groups seems to offer great promise.

It sounds like you have an interesting practice. I’ll bet the depth of your thought about the larger pressures of life serve you and your “clients” well.

Thanks again for the kind words.