Individual versus group selection results in a mix of altruism and selfishness, of virtue and sin, among the members of a society.

It is an occult law moreover, that no man can rise superior to his individual failings without lifting, be it ever so little, the whole body of which he is an integral part. In the same way no one can sin, nor suffer the effects of sin, alone. In reality, there is no such thing as 'separateness' and the nearest approach to that selfish state which the laws of life permit is in the intent or motive.

Competing is intense among humans, and within a group, selfish individuals always win. But in contests between groups, groups of altruists always beat groups of selfish individuals.

We have decommissioned natural selection and must now look deep within ourselves and decide what we wish to become.

Of course, there is no reconciliation between the theory of evolution by natural selection and the traditional religious view of the origin of the human mind.

To the extent that philosophical positions both confuse us and close doors to further inquiry, they are likely to be wrong...