Human beings have evolved as social animals organized around leaders. But beyond mere sociality, human groups can move as one survival unit, functioning as a vast “superorganism”. Acts of sacrifice for the nation or merciless violence against enemies exemplify this superorganismic character.
Yet humans reproduce individually, so individual fitness takes precedence over group fitness. Depending on environmental conditions, humans sometimes display superorganismic traits, and at other times show selfish individual tendencies. Human society, therefore, is best described as an “imperfect superorganism”.
Morality as the Engine of Cooperation
The formation of a superorganism requires altruistic cooperation. “Morality is the mental mechanism that compels inherently selfish humans to cooperate.” From an evolutionary perspective, goodness means actions that enhance the happiness and fitness of the group as a whole. Morality, therefore, functions only within the group.
Altruistic acts can be classified into four categories according to the cost to the actor and underlying neuro-psychological mechanisms:
1. Self-sacrifice (unto death)
2. Devotion
3. Charity
4. Kindness
Equality and Inequality
Human societies always have leaders, the “heads” of the group. Leaders, once established, are rewarded by society, often with reproductive benefits and the human instinct to compete for leadership ensures that. High-fitness societies balance “equality among members” with “competition and rewards for leadership”. From biological reasoning and the experience of advanced nations, six principles emerge as the foundation of a just society:
– Rule of law and adherence to agreements
– Equality of basic status
– Fairness (equal opportunity)
– Monitoring and transparency
– Insurance against misfortune
– Prohibition of hereditary privilege
Wealth is a product of civilization, created through the cooperation of community members. In principle, its rightful owner is society as a whole. Yet reproductive instinct drives people to optimize their children’s fitness, resulting in the powerful drive to pass on wealth. But inheritance is akin to dynastic succession; it entrenches class and undermines equality. The tension between fair distribution and hereditary transmission remains an unresolved evolutionary conflict.
The Backbone of the Mind
Animal nervous systems are built on the fundamental plan, “stimulus → information processing → action”, which we call instinct. In higher animals, instincts manifest as desires. Both instincts and desires drive behavior, but desire does not directly translate into action; it must be mediated. In humans, the circuit expands into “stimulus → (information processing) desire → reasoning → pleasure gate → action”. Reasoning is the faculty that implements desire through thought, while the happiness gate evaluates expected happiness among competing options and selects the plan most likely to maximize it. When this circuit yields a choice, we experience it as “free will”.
The philosophical “is–ought” problem can be explained as a “neural leap”. A given stimulus evokes a desire, which produces normative judgment. Historically this was attributed to conscience or divine will. But the backbone model of the mind clarifies that such responses may be instinctive desires or automated judgments shaped by social education and norms. This framework sheds light on many ambiguous concepts in the humanities and social sciences.
– “Freedom” is the pursuit of desire.
– “Happiness” is the satisfaction of desire.
– “Human rights” define the socially accepted boundaries of desires aimed at enhancing individual fitness.
– “Value” is the degree of satisfaction achieved through desires. Value is experienced both personally and socially.
The ultimate value lies in raising both social and individual fitness together. Neither the asceticism of a hermit nor the extravagance of an emperor defines the ideal life. Humans cannot escape the animal sufferings of birth, aging, illness, and death, nor the pains of competition inherent to social beings. The Middle Way is to pursue both individual and collective fitness simultaneously — the human limit and path of balance.
Religion and the Superorganism
Monotheism can be understood as the symbolic expression of the superorganism. A single God commands love and sacrifice within the members of ingroup while demanding harshness and conquest toward outgroups. In return, God promises the reward of eternal life. Abrahamic religions began as tribal gods, but through globalization their moral teachings evolved while their aggression has been gradually curtailed.