If the problem of human nature in psychological and social sciences ha
s got indeed the character of paradigm, it should be openly admitted a
nd solved, however difficult it might be. The most widely spread parad
igm is that of egoism. Selfishness is ascribed to man (explicitly or i
mplicitly) as a substantial (if not the only one) final determinant of
his/her mentality. What kind of help can we expect from the new scien
tific discipline - evolutionary psychology? Evolutionary psychology as
ks what was the mental outfit of primary man that enabled him to solve
problems in his/her original environment; i.e., in the environment to
which he/she was adapted in the evolutionary process. And, further on
, how does the original, evolutionarily stabilized mental outfit of ma
n make itself useful in the present, fairly different environment? Alt
ruism (between relatives and above all the reciprocal one) is a theme
to which evolutionary psychologists pay great attention. The rise of t
he reciprocal altruism as an evolutionary stabilized strategy is condi
tioned by systematic, consistent and repeated exchange of roles ''give
r'' and ''receiver''. The reciprocity of utility in the evolutionary p
rocess is controlled by the individual's reproductional success. The u
ltimate cause of the reciprocal altruism has got, therefore, the unamb
iguous character of individualism. On the other hand, the proximal mec
hanisms (motivation, emotions, feelings) arisen in the evolutionary pr
ocess of the reciprocal altruism, as well as by them generated behavio
ur have got an unambiguous orientation at other individuals, and that
positively - in the form of help or even self-sacrifice (devotion), co
operation. The development of the reciprocal altruism took place in Ho
minids several million years before the emergency of articulated speec
h. The enlarging brain of Hominids was - most probably - the result of
natural selection of individuals, more capable to realize the recipro
cal altruism with a long time range, with a large individual different
iation, with refined proportions of interchangeability, and to defend
it against the ''cheaters''. As a further evolutionary step, the emerg
ency of the oughtness dimension, the basic stone of human gift of mora
lity, is considered. Face to face with the puzzle character of social
intricacy, a successful individual was that one, who had got ''inbuilt
'' well-tried cluse of what to do. The morality, in fact, functions -
being effective just because of the fact that it has got an additive d
imension of oughtness that enables to overcome - in actual situation -
the barrier of egoistic desires, to disengage from them, and to help
the others.