274 Self and the Phenomenon of Life
b2726 Self and the Phenomenon of Life: A Biologist Examines Life from Molecules to Humanity “9x6”example. If in a society 80% of the members have the potential for mar-
tyrdom, it does not follow that only the remaining 20% (selfish members)
will be the eventual survivors. In reality it does not take all the altruistic
members to die for the cause in order for the group to be saved (most
likely 10% will suffice). Thus, in this instance there is still a 7 to 2 ratio
(70/20) in favor of the altruistic gene. Applying this scenario to the small
animal that emits a warning call in times of danger, only the first caller
(one of the altruists) will be captured by the predator; all other potential
altruists have a chance to hide and survive. Or take the example of the
legendary Dutch boy who saved a community from flooding by plugging
the leak on the dyke; the sacrifice of one altruistic individual increases
the survival chance of all others (altruists as well as selfish members).
In the end, natural selection favors groups with altruistic traits. (See
Section 12.5 on Eusociality.)
Inside our bodies, all somatic cells (body cells that do not engage in
procreation) are altruistic in the sense that they sacrifice their prospect
for immortality in favor of the germ cells (ova and sperms). Altruism
is dramatically played out in our blood stream, where the neutrophils
(a type of white blood cells that serve as foot soldiers) literally explode
themselves in the act of battling invading bacteria. In the bee society,
stinging is a suicidal act to save the nest. During migration of driver
ants, workers use their bodies to build bridges for the colony to move
over obstacles, even facing certain death. Whereas altruistic behaviors
in lower animals are largely innate and genetically programmed, self-
sacrifice in humans is strongly influenced by culture.
The following true story illustrates a moving example of human
altruism in the face of disaster. It happened during the recent tsunami in
Japan. On 11 March 2011, a strong earthquake, Richter scale 9.0, struck
the northeast cost of Japan, setting off a tsunami minutes later, severely
damaging a nuclear power plant in the city of Fukushima. The cooling sys-
tem of the plant was destroyed, leading to the meltdown of two of the six
reactors on 15 March releasing radioactive material with a radiation level
800 times the recommended exposure limit for the workers. However,