For instance, many Americans disagree with capital punishment as being a valid response to criminal behavior. Yet many Americans firmly stand behind capital punishment as a means to maintain the social order. In this sense, capital punishment is like the Doomsday Machine in Dr. Strangelove. As Pinker (n.d.) shows, the philosophy behind revenge punishment may serve no one, and yet it is uniquely compelling on an emotional level. When emotions are stripped from the equation, parties are freer to make decisions based on reason. Yet reason is too often absent from human decision-making. Given the predilection for humans toward emotional responses, altruism has evolved to serve biological, sociological, and psychological functions. Fehr & Gachter (2002) suggest that altruistic punishment is remarkable because it is practiced upon those who are not biologically related. Generally, altruism is more easily understood when applied to persons of the same kinship group. Yet treating people from the kinship group may not constitute true altruism, because of the biological tendency to protect those within the social circle (Booman, 1980). True altruism would only manifest when people do noble acts for those they have never and possibly will never meet. A wealthy person who donates $1 million to a village in Africa,...
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