Altruism (biology) most common mechanism of reciprocity in nature, this kind is present in humans, primates, and many other mammals. Also known as, "If you're nice, I'll be nice too." This mechanism of reciprocity is similar to the heuristic of the golden rule, "Treat others how you would like to be treated." Parties mirror one another's attitudes, exchanging favors on the spot. Instant attitudinal reciprocity occurs among monkeys, and people often rely on it with strangers and acquaintances. Also known as, "what have you done for me lately?" Individuals keep track of the benefits they exchange with particular partners, which helps them
What Is it Like to Be a Bat? What Is it Like to Be a Bat? "What is it like to be a bat?" is a paper by American philosopher Thomas Nagel, first published in "The Philosophical Review" in October 1974, and later in Nagel's "Mortal Questions" (1979). In it, Nagel argues that materialist theories of mind omit the essential component of consciousness, namely that there is something that it is (or feels) like to be a particular, conscious thing. He argues that an organism has conscious mental states, "if and only if there is something that it is like to be that organism—something it is like "for"