For Whose Benefit? (eBook)

The Biological and Cultural Evolution of Human Cooperation

Patrik Lindenfors (Autor)

eBook Download: PDF

2017 | 1st ed. 2017
VIII, 172 Seiten
Springer International Publishing (Verlag)
978-3-319-50874-0 (ISBN)

Infos

This book takes the reader on a journey, navigating the enigmatic aspects of cooperation; a journey that starts inside the body and continues via our thoughts to the human super-organism.

Cooperation is one of life's fundamental principles. We are all made of parts - genes, cells, organs, neurons, but also of ideas, or 'memes'. Our societies too are made of parts - us humans. Is all this cooperation fundamentally the same process?

From the smallest component parts of our bodies and minds to our complicated societies, everywhere cooperation is the organizing principle. Often this cooperation has emerged because the constituting parts have benefited from the interactions, but not seldom the cooperating units appear to lose on the interaction. How then to explain cooperation? How can we understand our intricate societies where we regularly provide small and large favors for people we are unrelated to, know, or even never expect to meet again? Where does the idea come from that it is right to risk one's life for country, religion or freedom? The answers seem to reside in the two processes that have shaped humanity: biological and cultural evolution.

Inhalt

The Human PuzzleThe breakdown of selfCooperation and lifeLifeYour physical selfGenesSimple cells - prokaryotes17More complex cells – eukaryotes18Multi-cellularity20Mobile eco-systems24Your psychological self27A soulless existence29Majority rule31Surely there is something more?31Easily explicable cooperation and natural selection35Mutual gain36Natural selection38Proximate and ultimate explanations41Group selection42Behavioral genetics43Family46Warning calls50Eusociality – ants, wasps and bees51A challenge54Eusociality – termites and naked mole rats57Kin selection in humans58Friends61The prisoners’ dilemma61Examples from the animal world?65The social brain69Other possible genetic explanations of cooperation71We are not them: about our closest relatives73Reciprocity in humans75Humanity – the paragon of cooperation?78Games of cooperation81A huge mistake?83Cultural group selection85Nature or nurture86Cultural explanations for extreme cooperation89Language95The structure of human language98The evolution of language99The green beards of language102The second replicator105The last piece of the puzzle? – Cooperation over our heads108A slow history111Cultural evolution116Cultural evolutionary explanations of cooperation125Networks127The software130Epilogue: The human super organism133Characteristics of synergistic cooperation136How to harness idea collectives137References140Notes148

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 27.3.2017
• Zusatzinfo: VIII, 172 p. 1 illus.
• Verlagsort: Cham
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Mathematik / Informatik ► Mathematik
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie
• Schlagworte: Biological Evolution • Cooperation • Cultural Evolution • Game Theory • Sociality
• ISBN-10: 3-319-50874-1 / 3319508741
• ISBN-13: 978-3-319-50874-0 / 9783319508740