n maximizing thepossibility of survival and minimizing the possibility of extinction. By thisthesis, the development of rules could further assist natural selection at alllevels of human development: it could be an isolating mechanism that keepspeople who can follow rules from genetically mingling with people who are unableto follow them. Organisms, and the environment that produces them, necessarilymust be symbionts if either is to maximize its chances of survival. At the humanlevel, an ability to follow rules satisfies the debt of giving to theenvironment (the social environment). In response the environment bestowsgreater opportunities on cooperative people than on uncooperative ruleviolators. A natural separation occurs between the two (cooperative anduncooperative people), further enhanced by the isolating effects of value andmoral systems warning a society's members of the problems of dealing withuncooperative people. Natural selection likely favors cooperative elements innature rather than uncooperative elements. Nature does not provide a singlesystem of rules, but rather a wide spectrum of rule systems that the humanspecies can follow and thus benefit from the natural system's efficiencies.Which ethical system is best is less important than which system isolatescooperative from uncooperative elements to maximize systemic efficiency. Rulesrepresent the minimum standards of conduct necessary for a person to actcooperatively with a society that is a heterogeneity of widely different people.The presence of rule sets helps clarify in a society who is cooperative and whois acting in counterproductive ways toward the goals, intents, and energies ofthe society. The evolution of ethical systems is an integral part of socialgrowth. Formal and informal rule systems promote systemic efficiency bymaximizing the system's social power; they minimize conflicts by developing lawsto the point that peace and prosperity grow incrementally. Social p...
