Are humans fundamentally selfish or altruistic? This long-standing debate in biology once converged on the proposition of "the selfish gene." It was a perspective that understood humans as beings who compete and exploit for survival and reproduction. However, in recent decades, the interpretation that cooperation and consideration — kindness — was the key driver behind humanity's prosperity has gained traction. The new book "The Betrayal of Kindness" goes beyond these two tightly contested viewpoints to examine human nature in a more complex and clear-eyed manner.
Author Jonathan R. Goodman argues that the binary itself — optimistically viewing humans as "altruistic beings" or definitively labeling them as "selfish beings" — is the problem. He contends that human cooperation never originated from pure goodwill. Rather, it evolved within strategies designed to deceive others and secure resources first. As he puts it, "Humans are not cooperative animals but beings who possess 'the capacity to cooperate.'" That capacity, depending on the situation, can either reveal or conceal self-interest.
A prime example is the "dictator game." Among two participants, the "dictator" holding $10 can share any amount with the other person who has nothing. If humans were purely selfish, keeping all the money would be rational. Yet in actual experiments, participants often choose to share a portion. This is interpreted as a strategy to accumulate trust and reputation as social resources through moral behavior. However, when the distribution is not made known to others, the probability of the "dictator" sharing drops significantly. This illustrates that cooperation is both a virtue and simultaneously another form of competition.
The book draws on a wide range of disciplines — anthropology, evolutionary biology, psychology and philosophy — to support these arguments. It presents extensive examples including ethnographic studies of hunter-gatherer societies, experiments such as the "prisoner's dilemma," and the classic debate between Hobbes and Rousseau. Through these, the book persuasively demonstrates that human cooperation was not the result of moral progress but a strategic behavior selected through the process of adapting to the environment.
The author says humans are beings who covertly conceal their profit-seeking strategies, drawing on exceptional language ability and social intelligence. Humans cooperate while competing, and sometimes pretend to cooperate in order to compete more efficiently. Yet there is no need to be pessimistic about humanity's strategic kindness. An accurate understanding of human nature is the starting point for moving toward a sustainable society. 20,000 won.