Greed a survival instinct?

Question

Is Greed a survival instinct that is passed from the time humans were hunters & gatherers

Answer 1

It goes well earlier than that.  There is actually extensive research regarding greed, cooperation, punishment of cheaters, communication, etc.   Much of it resulting in and from complex mathematical equations.  I suggest a start with sciam.com, and go from there.  See ya in ten years.

Answer 2

The part of 'greed' that is a tendency to hoard, yes I believe so. Squirrels do hoard. But the 'more than you should' or 'more than you deserve' part sounds more like something people might be taught. A guilty conscience..

Answer 3

no greed is a selfish instinct... hunter and gatherers often shared their food, so I wouldn't connect those two dots..

Answer 4

i think anything alive is greedy....even certain plants can be called greedy (growing GIANT LEAVES to block out and get all the sun light it can). i dont believe being greedy is really a bad thing....i think being greedy is only bad in human eyes because we decided to go by human laws and s***w over natures laws. i  think if humans were still living in the wild with a social family group our family group wouldnt want to share a meal with another group thats just more competition (wild = no markets). s***w the other groups family! my family is more important!

Answer 5

Yes, as much as cooperation is.