“The line between life or death is determined by what we are willing to do.”- Bear Grylls. The choices we make in these situations are often instinctual. Humans have adapted to their environment to survive. But because we are not as simple-minded as the other animals we share this planet with, we have developed morals and beliefs. These beliefs include the idea that selfishness is bad. I content that nothing is bad, as long as it is in the right quantity. In the same stride, too much or too little of something could be detrimental to our survival. The same applies to selfishness. But to understand this concept, let’s first investigate the definition of selfishness. “ the quality or state of being selfish : a concern for one's own welfare or advantage at the expense of or in disregard of others : excessive interest in oneself”(1) An example would be staying seated even though an elderly or pregnant person is in need of a seat. However, to turn selfishness into a healthier, more beneficial term, some parts must be excluded.. “the quality or state of being selfish : a concern for one's own welfare or advantage at the expense of or in disregard of others : excessive interest in oneself” A healthy selfishness is simply concern for oneself. It’s like putting on your oxygen mask before helping others. Most animals exercise this because when they hunt for prey, they do it out of concern for themselves rather than hate for others. Selfishness, in this sense, is more synonymous to self-preservation rather than greed and insensitivity. Survival requires selfishness because, without concern for oneself, survival may be compromised, and death may ensue.
Concern for oneself is what keeps us all from dying. Whether it’s simply eating a meal, or fending off a pack of wolves in the forest, we all do several things to assure our survival and well-being. Humans aren’t the only species who do this; all organisms from an invisible bacterium on your face to the grass in our lawns, to the great elephant living in the grasslands of Africa. All of these organisms have evolved in certain ways to ensure their survival. In his book, On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin's theory of evolution explains survival. Darwin states that, “As buds give rise by growth to fresh buds, and these, if vigorous, branch out and overtop on all sides many a feebler branch, so by generation I believe it has been with the great Tree of Life, which fills with its dead and broken branches the crust of the earth, and covers the surface with its ever-branching and beautiful ramifications.”(p. 144)(2) The vigorous branches take over the feebler branches. They care not for the branches below them. All they know is that they are thriving, and they are happy. It is about the self.
Again, I wish to adduce Darwin’s work because he birthed the theory of evolution, and it is evolution that has in turn birthed our instinct to be selfish. Regarding the giraffe, Darwin’s book explains, “But it will have been otherwise with the nascent giraffe, considering its probable habits of life ; for those individuals which had some one part or several parts of their bodies rather more elongated than usual, would generally have survived. These will have intercrossed and left offspring, either inheriting the same bodily peculiarities, or with a tendency to vary again in the same manner; whilst the individuals, less favoured in the same respects, will have been the most liable to perish.”(2) The giraffe did not suddenly materialize with its comically long neck. It was a matter of evolution and adaptation. The giraffes’ ancestors had shorter necks, similar to a deer. They probably fed on grass and shrubs on the ground like most deers of nowadays. But in their region, the grass population began to decrease due to the soil’s growing infertility. The giraffes with the longer necks (caused by chance, not by natural selection) were able to reach the trees for food while their less lucky, shorter-necked compatriots were left to die. Another thing that boosted the giraffe’s gradual neck elongation was their mating customs. Male giraffes fight for a female to mate with. They often do this by swinging their heads at each other. The giraffes with the longer necks would often triumph and reproduce, causing longer-necked giraffes to be born. From there, the giraffe necks grew longer and longer until they reached the length we are now familiar with today. My point: although some giraffes were ‘born lucky’(with their longer necks), and thereby had a higher chance of survival, they didn’t do anything to help the giraffes with shorter necks. They got food for themselves and essentially left the other giraffes to die. This was not only beneficial for the individual giraffe, but also for the entire species. If the taller giraffes had fed the shorter giraffes, the species as a whole would have been vulnerable to any shortage of food.
The goal of any living organism is to live and reproduce. They will run, hide, or even fight if it means survival. This is further elucidated in the Life of Pi by Yann Martel. “Life will defend itself no matter how small it is. Every animal is ferocious and dangerous. It may not kill you, but it will certainly injure you. It will scratch you and bite you, and you can look forward to a swollen, pus-filled infection, a high fever and a ten-day stay in the hospital.”(3) Pi’s father is explaining that all life forms are willing to fight in whatever way they can for their survival. And we as humans aren’t so different.
Some people have made it through impossible situations. One example is José Salvador Alvarenga, a Salvadoran fisherman. His tale began in 2012 on a fishing trip. “A few hours into their voyage, a storm struck that lasted five days and blew them off course. Alvarenga called his boss on the ship’s radio for help, but it—and much of the rest of the boat’s electronics—had been disabled by the storm. The boat's motor was also damaged. A search party was sent, but after two days with no success, their boss gave up and assumed they had drowned. Alone and without food or supplies, the two fishermen survived by eating raw fish, turtles and jellyfish. They drank rainwater and turtle blood.”(4) In that kind of situation, they had no choice but to eat raw seafood. It was the only way they could have survived. It is selfish of us to kill an organism for our well-being. But we do or encourage it because it’s the only way.
Some people argue that survival doesn’t have to be selfish because we can find a way to live in harmony with all of the other creatures on our planet. But the truth is, we simply cannot. Humans have evolved to be at the top of the food chain. We need the beef and milk that cows give us. We need the chicken and eggs that hens provide. We need the pork that pigs supply. We need the vitamins and minerals that plants dispense. We can’t survive without these things. MyPlate.org suggests that people should, “Focus on making healthy food and beverage choices from all five food groups including fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods, and dairy to get the nutrients you need.”(5) In order to get food from all 5 groups, we must not restrict ourselves to just plants or fruits. Unless we find a way to administer all the right nutrients we need in the right doses, we will have to continue obtaining them from different animals and plants. If the cows or chickens we ate almost every day needed to eat humans to survive, they would without a second thought. Nature is simply like that; things do what they must to survive.
Selfishness is necessary for survival. A lack of looking after oneself would precede death. It’s that simple. A lion in the plains that kills a deer can be considered selfish (self-concerned), but certainly not evil; as the term that is applied to selfishness. It’s just trying to survive. Similarly, a snake in the desert won’t bite you just because it’s wicked. It bites because it feels threatened. That is their defense mechanism. In some way, that too can be considered as selfish, but that is the essence of survival.
Bibliography:
“Selfishness.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/selfishness. Accessed 7 Oct. 2020.
Darwin, Charles. The Origin of Species. United States, P. F. Collier & son, 1909.
Martel, Yann. “Chapter 8.” Life of Pi, edited by Tim Squyres, Random House of Canada, 2001.
History.com Editors. “5 Stunning Real-Life Survival Stories.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 5 June 2019, www.history.com/news/5-stunning-real-life-survival-stories.
“What Is MyPlate?” ChooseMyPlate, www.choosemyplate.gov/eathealthy/WhatIsMyPlate.
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