The year 2009 marked the bicentenary of Charles Darwin’s birth and 150 years since the publication of his landmark text, On the Origin of Species. Think of Darwin and the expression ‘survival of the fittest’ leaps to mind, as do images of competitive individuals and of nature red in tooth and claw. In fact, the term ‘survival of the fittest’ was not Darwin’s at all, but was coined by a contemporary of his — the philosopher Herbert Spencer. Darwin’s own views about human nature are better represented by the term ‘survival of the kindest’. He argued that the social or maternal instincts of human beings are stronger than any other instinct or motive. He believed that among our human ancestors, communities of more compassionate individuals had greater success in raising offspring to the age of viability and reproduction.
Recent research is showing how right Darwin was. Dacher Keltner, author of Born to be Good: the Science of a Meaningful Life, believes we are indeed evolving to be more compassionate in our quest to survive and thrive, challenging long-held beliefs that human beings are hardwired to be selfish. Keltner and his colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley, are building the case that humans are successful as a species precisely because of our nurturing, altruistic and compassionate traits. Keltner claims that:
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