▶ Your Answer :
The professor in the lecture disagrees with the author’s point that some behaviors of animals and humans have altruism. She reputes the ideas given in the reading passage by introducing new findings and studies in science.
First, the speaker argues that a meerkat that acts like a sentinel does not show a full of altruism because there is no sacrifice in serving a sentinel while other meerkats hunt and eat food. If closely watching their behaviors, the sentinel’s stomach is full because it eats food before it guards other meerkats. The speaker argues that it is not an absolutely unselfish or non-rewarding action. This opposes the author's claim that the sentinel meerkat sacrifices food.
Second, the professor in the lecture mentions that its alarm when the sentinel sees a predator does not have a full of altruism. The sentinel escapes first when it sees the predator. In addition, recent studies show that the alarm induces the rash movements of the other group members, which leads the predator to pay attention to them. This action is for the sentinel meerkat itself because it increase its safety by drawing the predator’s attention on the other members. This contradicts the author's contention that the sentinel meerkat makes itself in great danger by standing as a sentinel for other members and making alarms.
Third, according to the professor, human's donations of organs cannot be regarded as altruism. For example, donating a kidney to others or even to a stranger provides the donor nonmaterialistic rewards, such as appreciations from the stranger or the society and self-worth. These rewards can be important to donations. This contradicts the author’s contention that such donations have little rewards but sacrifice theirs, so it is an example of altruism. |