Richard Dawkins is more of the pessimistic one between him and Oliva Judson. His writing is more of a harsher way of viewing things, such as sacrificing oneself for another. He writes "Finally, he chooses to perform the behaviour pattern which emerges with the largest net benefit." (Dawkins 67) He basically tell us about how people only give up for another person when there is more to gain; that we also are only likely to sacrifice ourself for those who we share close genes with such as siblings or children.
Olivia Judson is the more optimistic of the two. She talks more about the selfless acts that people do rather than the selfish acts where there is more to be rewarded towards oneself. Judson writes "Humans often risk their lives for strangers... or for people they know but are not related to." (Judson 92) She gives the example of firefighters during 9/11 to prove it is possible to give to others without gaining something for themselves. Although between the two, her point of view is more about competition than cooperation. She talks about examples such as dominate males trying to overpower one another as well as how stepparents tend to care more for their own child than the adopted one.
Judson's section is easier to read in tone because she writes more about "Selflessness" which is a more positive subject than Dawkins' "Selfishness." Its easier to accept what sounds nicer and more positive than it is when the topic is about something negative.
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