“p<.05” is a shorthand way of saying “the evidence we have is substantially unlikely to be the random result of unbiased processes”. It wasn’t intended to be taken literally, unless you think I’ve done randomized controlled trials on the goodness of mankind.
Yes, surely the inherent goodness comes from evolutionary game theory, it’s hard to see where else it would have come from. But the fact that evolutionary game theory suggests that people should have evolved to be good should be a point in favor of the proposition that mankind is inherently good, not a point against it.
EDIT: Now that I think about it, doing an RCT on the goodness of mankind might help illuminate some points. You could put a researcher in a room and have him “accidentally” drop some papers, and see if it’s people or placebo mannequins who are more likely to help him pick them up.
“p<.05” is a shorthand way of saying “the evidence we have is substantially unlikely to be the random result of unbiased processes”. It wasn’t intended to be taken literally, unless you think I’ve done randomized controlled trials on the goodness of mankind.
Yes, surely the inherent goodness comes from evolutionary game theory, it’s hard to see where else it would have come from. But the fact that evolutionary game theory suggests that people should have evolved to be good should be a point in favor of the proposition that mankind is inherently good, not a point against it.
EDIT: Now that I think about it, doing an RCT on the goodness of mankind might help illuminate some points. You could put a researcher in a room and have him “accidentally” drop some papers, and see if it’s people or placebo mannequins who are more likely to help him pick them up.