Kin Selection

 

Is kin selection altruism?

To answer this question I feel we should start with defining what each of these terms mean.

Kin selection is technically a strategy in evolution. It is where reproductive success on an organism’s relatives is favored even if it decreases the individual survival or reproduction of the organism.

Altruism is defined as “the principle and moral practice of concern for happiness of other human beings or other animals, resulting in a quality of life” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altruism ).

With that in mind, I feel like kin selection could be viewed as altruism. I see this viewpoint because kin selection as a strategy is selfless and has more concern for the wellbeing of the relatives of the organism rather than the individual. Wellbeing is also often correlated with happiness, if kin selection is an evolutionary practice, then the end result is the quality of lives for the long run.