by Bill Joslin
Repost from October 1, 2017 ·
Re: parasitism, immorality, predation etc…
First thing to get is that predation, parasitism and cooperation are all natural consequences of the same natural phenomena – life must seek asymmetrical benefit to survive.
From there – cooperation because it multiplies agency through aligning agents, opposed to predation and parasitism which reduces net agency, provides the only strategy (application of natural phenomena) which has an unlimited time horizon.
Predation ends when the prey have been consumed – the more successful the predator the more likely the prey supply is reduced to zero; the more successful the parasite the more degradation of the hosts health.
Predation and parasitism cap their success – their success increases their limits to success. Cooperation, however, when success increases, limits decrease.
When we extend the interpersonal strategy (cooperation) to our pool of resources (environment- including social=material, intellectual) our extraction of asymmetrical benefits increases the health of the pool of resources (stewardship) woof.