Risking the Self for the Many: An Evolutionary Reading of Altruism and Sacrifice in Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary

Yusra, Shabrina Adzani (2026) Risking the Self for the Many: An Evolutionary Reading of Altruism and Sacrifice in Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary. S1 thesis, Universitas Andalas.

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Abstract

Altruism and self-sacrifice are often seen as paradoxical to survival, yet humans are still willing to risk their lives to save others. This thesis examines the altruism and self-sacrifice in Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary (2021) through the lens of literary Darwinism. This study seeks to identify the evolutionary motives behind the protagonist, Ryland Grace’s, altruistic behavior and how the novel portrays self-sacrifice as an adaptive strategy that ensures humanity’s survival. This thesis applies Joseph Carroll’s evolutionary human motives to understand Ryland’s altruistic behaviors and also utilizes Angus Fletcher’s other literary Darwinism perspective and sociobiological theories by Hamilton, Dawkins, and Singer to investigate how self-sacrifice serves as an adaptive strategy. The first finding reveals that Ryland exhibits several human motives through his altruistic behaviors, including survival, aiding kin or non-kin, making friends and forming alliances, and a motive to discover something. The second finding shows how the novel depicts sacrifice as evolutionarily rational adaptations rather than a paradox, aligning with the sociobiological idea of enhancing the collective’s survival chances. Ultimately, Project Hail Mary portrays altruism and self-sacrifice not as irrational but as adaptive strategies for survival that incorporate both biological and ethical adaptations.

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