Life is Competition... or Cooperation?

[Quintessence]

Do you see life as more of a competition, or an exercise in cooperation? Why?

When first answering this question, were you thinking about just your life, human life, or all biological life? Would your answer change if you shifted your scope of reference?

How do you think your perspective on this impacts how you behave?

 

[Revoltingest]

No option for <a combination>?
So many life forms....too few options in the poll.
For only humans though, mostly cooperation.
This view doesn't affect my behavior.
Instead, it's the behavior which creates the view.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Do you see life as more of a competition, or an exercise in cooperation? Why?

When first answering this question, were you thinking about just your life, human life, or all biological life? Would your answer change if you shifted your scope of reference?

How do you think your perspective on this impacts how you behave?

Can't have a good team without the players.

I probably go for an option of symbiotic where individual competition joins collective forces.

 

[shunyadragon]

Both

 

[Quintessence]

Nope, no option for both. That is deliberate. You have to pick one.

 

[Woberts]

Life is a cooperative endeavor, fruitful life is at least.

 

[sun rise]

No option for <a combination>?
So many life forms....too few options in the poll.
For only humans though, mostly cooperation.
This view doesn't affect my behavior.
Instead, it's the behavior which creates the view.

Uh oh. I agree with @Revoltingest again. Anytime we agree the odds that our opinion is correct is much, much higher.

 

[Quetzal]

Do you see life as more of a competition, or an exercise in cooperation? Why?

Both are required. You can only be competitive if you are cooperative about the rules of the competition. They build on each other.

 

[Revoltingest]

Uh oh. I agree with @Revoltingest again. Anytime we agree the odds that our opinion is correct is much, much higher.

You're becoming me.

 

[shunyadragon]

Nope, no option for both. That is deliberate. You have to pick one.

Nope. My answer is both. Actually the present knowledge in the science of anthropology demonstrates both.

Why not both?!?!?!

 

[Revoltingest]

Nope. My answer is both. Actually the present knowledge in the science of anthropology demonstrates both.

Why not both?!?!?!

I'll guess that she's thinking of humans.
Regarding them, I see it as both, but mostly cooperation.

 

[Quetzal]

Nope, no option for both. That is deliberate. You have to pick one.

If I had to pick one I would go with cooperative. Thoughtful question, though.

 

[Enoch07]

We would be better off as a co-op.

I wish it was a co-op.

But in reality it is competitive. And if you play it any other way, you will get left behind. That's just the sad truth of human nature.

 

[Jumi]

Co-operative, only way to be purely competitive is to compete against civilization, out there in the woods or in the desert...

 

[Estro Felino]

My happiness is compatible with another's happiness.

Envy is a devilish sentiment imho

 

[Nakosis]

Do you see life as more of a competition, or an exercise in cooperation? Why?

When first answering this question, were you thinking about just your life, human life, or all biological life? Would your answer change if you shifted your scope of reference?

How do you think your perspective on this impacts how you behave?

I see it as cooperation, my boss sees it as competition. Since he makes a lot more money than me, he must be right.

I suppose it makes me act in ways that prevents me from getting richer.

 

[Quintessence]

Both are required. You can only be competitive if you are cooperative about the rules of the competition. They build on each other.

Hmm. Based on what I've seen on the internet and in various games, this does not seem to be the case. Very competitive types will invent rules about what "winning" means regardless of whether or not other parties actually agree to said standards or not. They will then proceed to judge everyone else based on their standards, even though these standards were not agreed to. I suppose this happens in other areas of human affairs as well...

 

[Quintessence]

Nope. My answer is both. Actually the present knowledge in the science of anthropology demonstrates both.

Why not both?!?!?!

Perhaps you do not follow the intent of the question. The question does not intend to say only one or the other exists. It is asking whether or you approach life more as a competition or an exercise in cooperation. Do you live to "win" or do you live to get along? It is not saying that you can only live to win, or that you can only live to get along. Everyone does both, but everyone also trends towards being competitive personality or non-competitive personality. Some call this "Type A" and "Type B" personality.

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

Some cooperation, some competition...and a whole lot of coexistence.

in any system there is a bit of all three, although the amount can vary greatly at different points or components of the system, and over time.

Personally, I prefer cooperation, even though I recognize the occasional need for some competition.

 

[Quintessence]

If I had to pick one I would go with cooperative. Thoughtful question, though.

There are many angles to it. It is something I've been thinking about on and off interacting with folks here and there.

I do some online gaming, and one of the big sources of conflict in that community is people who are competitive gamers versus those who are not. Some want to play the game to 'win' and for others it is just for having fun or relaxing. Competitive types will get mad at the ones who do not care about winning for 'dragging them down' and the relaxed people will get mad at the competitive types for 'being elitist' or so on and so forth. It's an interesting dynamic. The poor game developer in the mean time has to somehow serve both demographics!

Learning biology in undergrad, sometimes the idea of 'life is a competition' was emphasized a lot. Surely in popular culture, humans tend to believe non-human life is all about 'survival of the fittest.' As I've learned more about biology, though, especially going to various seminars... that's not really accurate. But the examples of cooperation tend to get downplayed in biology education, or at least they did when I was going through the system. In contrast, the coursework I took in psychology did the opposite - the competitive nature of humans was downplayed while cooperation and socialization was played up. What's really going on, one must wonder?

It is both, of course, but we'll see things as being more about one or the other. And personality wise we will be more one over the other in most situations too.