Altruism and Simpson's paradox. Column in ComputerreOnline #50
In different conditions, the greatest success is provided by different behavioral forms – sometimes purely selfish, sometimes antagonistic, but quite often also altruistic.
Even in Darwin’s time a false interpretation of Darwinism appeared, portraying it as a war of all against all. Among those who thought Darwin underestimated mutual aid, the most prominent was Prince Peter Alexeyevich Kropotkin, geographer and theorist of anarchism. Kropotkin’s *Mutual Aid as a Factor of Evolution*, written in 1902, does not contain an alternative or refutation of Darwinism; it merely shifts the emphasis, giving more attention to harmony in relationships among individuals. One cannot disagree with Kropotkin that various forms of mutual aid are widespread in our world. Throughout evolution they have arisen repeatedly.