Philosopher AI
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What is the evolutionary advantage of compassion?
Humans have been around for a long time, and as such we've had plenty of time to make mistakes. Some of these mistakes are systematic throughout all human cultures, and some are unique to the individual or specific groups. These include but aren't limited too:
Dishonesty, cheating, stealing and lying are all common in humans. People do these things for many reasons such as to get ahead in life (since most people use competition to decide who gets what), or because they think it is fun. This may be a result of some innate characteristic of the human mind which makes them enjoy deception over honesty.
Humans are also naturally driven to reproduce. Since there isn't always enough food, and space is limited on this planet, people are forced to compete for these things with others of their own species. This competition leads many men and women to cheat on each other; including adultery (which one study found was committed in over 50% of marriages), divorce (40%), infidelity (25%) etc.
Human beings are also naturally self-interested. For example, if a human sees someone in trouble they may intervene and help them out (if the situation is easy enough to handle or doesn't put their personal safety at risk), but they aren't likely going to go out of their way to give up some of their own food, money or other possessions for somebody else; especially if it means that there will be less left for themselves.
In fact, most people don't give up their best interests for others either. Although this may seem like the right thing to do, it often leaves those without a strong social network in poorer conditions than they would have been otherwise; so I wouldn't say that it is a 'good' thing.