Are humans cooperative or competitive by nature?

[Kestrel]

What do you think?

I feel it's our nature to cooperate, but there are likely times where we are hardwired to be competitive or behave skeptically towards one another; generally when resources are scarce or when we are strangers to one another.

[NW/RL]

It's a million times more complicated than a "nature", but you are correct about the environment. Altruism has to evolve like everything else, and can only do so with the correct incentive structure

[Kestrel]

Originally posted by NW/RL:

It's a million times more complicated than a "nature", but you are correct about the environment. Altruism has to evolve like everything else, and can only do so with the correct incentive structure

True, though I think we're kind of wired to seek out other people who we want to cooperate with. Otherwise I don't think we'd have concepts like "lonely."

[EliteEndermanzz]

Depends on the person

[Basho]

without an overarching tendency for cooperation, there would be no civilization.

[76561199237092713]

i prefer cooperation, that's why i get... the opposite every where i go. because god/karma/whatever... just cant let me enjoy 1 second.

ever heard of life long friends murdering each other?
what does this say about us?

[90054321564584560]

humans are emotional by nature so they can be both or neither

[apathy]

Survival of the fittest is the name of the sim game. We NPCs have subroutines that allow for cooperation so long as we believe we're benefiting the most.

Blame the programmer, not the program.

[Yew Nough]

Yes

[WarHeRo]

i cant see why those two cant go hand in hand

[the vampire of time and memory]

both are natural from an evolutionary psychology perspective

of course due to free will we are above that, it's pretty environmental

[salamander]

in todays world i think less. most are not having to fight for resources any longer (though this is still an issue in some places). competition has instead moved from, basic survival to success. humans compete over status, wealth etc instead of food or shelter.

but still i am thinking, for most it is more simple and beneficial to cooperate. many are too busy with their own lives and love ones, to be worrying of competition with strangers.

[Apexnexius]

Originally posted by Kestrel:

What do you think?

I feel it's our nature to cooperate, but there are likely times where we are hardwired to be competitive or behave skeptically towards one another; generally when resources are scarce or when we are strangers to one another.

TLDR summary pls

[Netaris]

I'll say cooperation is more important than competition. Still, both are adapted to different situations.

But yeah, I think we're way more cooperative than competitive in nature.

[zeke]

Both - those two things aren't mutually exclusive.

Pretty much all living creatures are competitive. Most species compete with others within their own species for a higher place in the social hierarchy, for the ability to mate with a given individual, for territory, or even for food.

But we're also 'herd' animals by nature. We form communities that extend beyond our direct relations because it is mutually beneficial to do so. Juxtaposition: We're not like species of large cats who, largely, live either solitary lives or who only form small very small/closed packs. If you want to know how a species with few tendencies towards cooperation acts, large cats make excellent examples for study.

[Moogal™]

Co operative