New findings in scientific areas can examine and challengeprevious assumptions. A recent finding concerning the meerkat,a burrow-dwelling animal in the African grasslands, has castdoubt upon the conventional ideas of altruism, the type ofbehavior in which an animal sacrifices its own interests for thebenefit of another.
Meerkats were previously thought to be a typical altruisticanimal. When the other meerkats feed, there is usually one meerkat watching out for predators.The sentinel meerkat gains nothing, it seems, for it can neither eat nor escape quickly andsuccessfully after raising an alarm.
However, in the new findings, it's shown that the sentinel meerkat has already eaten food beforestanding guard, thus contradicting the thought that it has an empty belly while on the lookout. Inaddition to this, the sentinel is the first to see a predator, so it is the first to escape. It is also placednearest a burrow, making it relatively easier to flee. Moreover, its alarm calls may cause the groupeither to gather or to spread rapidly, which may attract the predator's attention, providing thesentinel a better chance to escape.
The same is with supposed human altruistic behavior. Organ donation to strangers may beconsidered an unselfish act, which provides little reward to the donator. However, by donating hisorgan, the donator may most probably receive praise and appreciation from others. Isn't this non-material reward, which increases one's self worth, satisfactory to anyone?
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