The genetics of heroism

David Karnes, the marine who found two World Trade Center survivors, seems "a bit crazy brave", according to an article in Slate magazine.  "You'd have to be slightly abnormal—abnormally selfless, abnormally patriotic—to do what he did. And some of the same qualities that led Karnes to make himself a hero when it counted may make him less perfect" in other situations.

What would motivate someone to leave the safety of his home (in another state, no less), and rush to the scene of disaster and human suffering?  You could say it was his training as a marine, and indeed, marine training is harsh.  It trains a man to obey orders (for those men who are pre-disposed and excited to be part of a strict power hierarchy).  But no amount of training can make you actually feel patriotic. Emotions and motivations and feelings can't be trained; they can only be invoked and incited.  Therefore, they must be innate.

It does seem a little insulting to explain bravery as innate and genetic, until you realize that "genes are not something you have; genes are who you are".  Karnes felt a deep sense of duty, because of who he is.  He became a marine in the first place because of who he is. You can't teach feelings, and so feelings must come from somewhere else -- the genes.

But we humans are not built to talk about each other this way.  It seems somewhat demeaning.  We want to appreciate people for who they are.  But that is the same thing as admiring their genes.  I'm just saying that if you had different genes, you would make different choices, of your own free will.