In college, I studied biology and found myself puzzled by altruism. Why do some animals/people act selflessly in society? Of course, biology's answer puts a genetic spin on it--altruism benefits the species, right?
Second graders read the book Swimmy by Leo Lionni, a testament to altruism and leadership, yet, more and more, baby humans grow up to follow the evolutionary strategy of remoras, [1] the suckerfish that attach themselves to the big fish?
So, which evolutionary strategy makes more sense, and why do kids end up more like remoras, than like Swimmy [2]?
Links:
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remora
[2] http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/193737