Author(s)

Herath Vidyaratne

Visiting Lecturer, Postgraduate Institute of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.

The motives behind the economic value in human behavior are a topic of longstanding foci of research interest. Two motives, self-interest and altruism influence in different degrees in form of inclusive fitness in natural selection and contribute in determining and reasoning the values in human societies. We elaborate how inclusive fitness (self-interest and altruism) shapes the values, and behavior resulting sustainability of species and ecosystems. We argue self-interest and altruism combine in different scales that determine human values. The concept of value in economic analysis changes over time with the development and influence of other disciplines and in economics, propagates in more multi-disciplinary way per se in ecological economics currently. Animal behavior studies provide examples that value originated as result of natural selection in animals as a biological process. The paper contributes to the debate on how natural selection generates the mechanism of surviving which in turn originates in particular existence value, option value and values which support the sustainability of ecosystems.

Altruism, Culture, Ecosystems, Existence Value, Inclusive Fitness, Self-Interest and Sustainability

Vidyaratne, H. (2022) The Influence of Natural Selection and Other Disciplines on Ecological Economic Values. Theoretical Economics Letters, 12, 1335-1350. doi: 10.4236/tel.2022.125073.