This paper evaluates evolutionary explanations of the portrayals of non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. The behavior of these individuals constitutes an evolutionary puzzle because it is a form of altruism that is not easily explainable by kin selection, reciprocal altruism, or group selection. Even more puzzling is the portrayal of these individuals as positive moral exemplars whose altruism is to be celebrated and replicated. The explanation put forth in this paper is based on the concept of parent-offspring conflict and the hypothesis that parents have been selected to manipulate their offspring into engaging in acts of altruism that are not in the offspring’s evolutionary interest. It proposes that both acts of altruism and the portrayal of the individuals who perform them as moral exemplars are the result of parental manipulation becoming traditional by being transmitted over many generations.

中文翻译：

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进化论能解释国际义人的形象吗？

本文评估了对在大屠杀期间冒着生命危险拯救犹太人的非犹太人描绘的进化解释。这些个体的行为构成了一个进化难题，因为它是一种利他主义形式，不容易通过亲属选择、互惠利他主义或群体选择来解释。更令人费解的是，这些人被描绘成积极的道德榜样，他们的利他主义值得庆祝和复制。本文提出的解释是基于亲子冲突的概念，以及父母被选中来操纵他们的后代从事不符合后代进化利益的利他行为的假设。