“The dilemma of altruism. What is altruism in nature for? ” . The exhibition is  scheduled from 5 November 2021 to 3 April 2022 at MUSE ( Trento Science Museum) . 

This path was born with the aim of entering a path full of food for thought, to the discovery of cooperative and altruistic behaviors in the animal world . To show them, photographs and videos were collected , which the authors – often scientists and researchers – made available to witness extremely significant events due to their exceptional nature.

The project originates from the benches of the  Master Fauna and Human Dimension , promoted by the University of Insubria, together with MUSE – the Science Museum of Trento, the Oikos Institute of Milan and the Edmund Mach Foundation of San Michele all’Adige.

We talk about it with the two curators and creators: Daniela Gentile, wildlife biologist, wildlife conservation expert and Gabriele Raimondi , documentary maker and professional in the field of video production.

What prompted you to dedicate an exhibition to this theme?

Altruism in the animal world is a topic that has long been, and still is, central to the study of evolutionary biology . It represents one of the most fascinating and mysterious aspects of animal behavior, which has placed scientists in a dilemma.

The dilemma is how to frame the phenomena of altruism within the theory of natural selection. In fact, altruistic behaviors seem, at least apparently, to disagree with the principle of natural selection of the fittest, if by “most suitable” we mean the individual with the greatest reproductive success.

The question that arises is: if altruistic behavior involves great sacrifices for individuals who practice it – such as giving up reproducing to help others reproduce or can it even involve the loss of one’s life to protect that of others – how does it to evolve? How does it get passed on to subsequent generations?

Darwin himself struggled a lot on this point.Today there are several explanations capable of unraveling this dilemma , although many aspects still remain obscure. Describing, illustrating and explaining altruistic behaviors within the framework of the theory of evolution is the goal of this exhibition, which also broadens the perspective to other dynamics found among animals, such as cooperation and reciprocity, to arrive at the great theme of empathy and the questions that altruism still poses to science.

How is the exhibition structured and what experience does it offer?

The exhibition involves the visitor through different languages: photographs, videos and illustrations. 

It is structured in an introduction, useful to explain to the visitor what “the dilemma of altruism” consists of and in 3 sections, each of which offers a different interpretative perspective of altruistic phenomena in the animal world. 

1. The first “Living Together” shows examples of cooperation, reciprocity and mutualism. 
2. In the second “A question of the family” , the theory of kinship selection is illustrated, one of the evolutionary mechanisms by which altruism can evolve. 
3. In the last section “Bestial Empathy”, we introduce the theme of multilevel selection and, indeed, of empathic mechanisms as a possible explanation of particularly complex and enigmatic behaviors.

The exhibition is enriched by a series of in-depth interviews , which allow us to read altruism and empathy from three different points of view:

• With Telmo Pievani, the philosophy of science and evolution are called into question;
• with Giorgio Vallortigara the perspective is that of neuroscience;
• finally with the primatologist Elisa Demuru ethology becomes the key to understanding.

What is altruism biologically and what is it used for in nature?

For us human beings, altruism is a way of being that has ethical and philosophical implications; but in biology by altruism we mean a very specific phenomenon: that is, only those behaviors in which the costs are greater than the benefits for those who perform them are altruistic .

In reality today we know that the balance between costs and benefits of an altruistic act must be done in the long term and cannot be limited to the expression of the act itself. Altruism, but more generally cooperation and mutual help between individuals, are traits that have consolidated over the course of evolution because they give an advantage in the long term . 

A superficial and in some cases instrumental interpretation of Darwin’s work has imposed competition and struggle as the main engines of life, both in nature and in society. However, nature puts in place innumerable supportive systems that have played a determining role in all biological evolution.

Who was the Koko gorilla, reproduced and hosted at MUSE?

The idea of ​​including the story of the gorilla Koko in the exhibition is a gift from Muse.

Koko era una gorilla di pianura occidentale nata nel 1961 nello zoo di San Francisco. La particolarità di questo animale è stata quella di aver imparato a comunicare con gli esseri umani attraverso la lingua dei sordomuti americani, di cui conosceva più di 1000 segni che era in grado di decifrare ed utilizzare in modo appropriato.

Proprio attraverso la lingua dei segni Koko chiese un gatto come regalo di Natale, di cui si prese cura per lungo tempo come se fosse il suo cucciolo. Quando poi il gattino morì Koko reagì alla notizia utilizzando i segni “male, pianto”.

Questa storia, seppur si sviluppi in una situazione non naturale, cioè in cattività, ci offre degli spunti di riflessione sul tema delle emozioni negli animali e ci fa riflettere sul fatto che sono ancora molti gli aspetti per noi misteriosi.

Potete fare alcuni esempi di atti di altruismo rappresentati nella mostra?

I fenomeni di cooperazione, reciprocità e altruismo sono molto diffusi in natura. Oltre a servirci di esempi classici che illustrano questi comportamenti, abbiamo cercato di raccogliere anche osservazioni di eventi rari, in alcuni casi unici. Lo abbiamo fatto coinvolgendo direttamente gli autori delle immagini, spesso scienziati e ricercatori che hanno messo a disposizione i materiali raccolti durante i loro studi.

È il caso ad esempio del delfino con la spina dorsale malformata che nuota e socializza con un branco di capodogli, oppure il cucciolo di leopardo adottato da una leonessa indiana o ancora l’immagine di copertina della mostra, intitolata “Helping hand- humanity”, che mostra un gesto inaspettato di aiuto che una femmina di orango rivolge a un ranger in difficoltà: un’immagine unica e irripetibile che ha fatto il giro del mondo ed è diventata virale grazie alla potenza del suo messaggio.

Altri esempi sono quello delle cure mediche che le formiche Matabele riservano alle compagne ferite in battaglia, documentato da Erik Frank dell’Università di Wurzburg, la collaborazione disinteressata fra pappagalli cinerini che arriva dal Max Planck Institute, o gli esperimenti sull’empatia nei ratti, dall’Università di Chicago.