It’s all about survival instinct
PARK HYUNG-SOOThe author is an international news reporter of the JoongAng Ilbo.
The most powerful instincts of a gene are survival and reproduction. Survival instinct refers to the nature to preserve self and remain alive in life-threatening situations. When survival instinct is stimulated, attention becomes sharper while short-term memory is enhanced.
Valuing one’s reputation is also the manifestation of survival instinct because your chance of survival is higher when you are not kicked out of the group you belong to. Paying more attention to criticism than compliments — and negative news than positive news — also constitutes a survival instinct to help decide when to fight or run away.
Reproduction instinct is a mode of behavior to establish a reliable pack to hunt together with and jointly respond to enemy threats — with the aim of maintaining a race from generation to generation. In other words, descendants are the most reliable allies — and the more offspring you have, the stronger your community becomes.
Therefore, evolutionary biologists explain that reproductive instinct is also a concept for survival and that life forms prioritize their own survival over that of the next generation. Once the threat to survival exceeds a certain level, reproductive instinct is pushed back.
When does survival instinct take over reproductive instinct? In his book “The Selfish Gene,” British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins says that in the case of red grouses, “securing the territory” is the standard for reproduction.
In the breeding season, the birds engage in territorial disputes, and the winners take over an area larger than needed for reproduction.
Korea is an ultralow birthrate country with a total fertility rate of 0.78. The term “population cliff” or “national extinction crisis” has become a realistic warning. In some surveys, “childcare burden” and “job uncertainty” were ranked first and second as reasons for not having children.
That’s why the government is pouring out various child allowances and ways to resolve career interruption as a countermeasure against low birthrates. But according to Dawkins, rising housing prices and overcrowding in the Seoul metropolitan area could be the causes.
Cho Young-tae, a professor at Seoul National University who is an authority on demography, also stressed that “the fundamental measure to tackle low birthrate may be balanced regional development.”
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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