The Altruism Equation

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The Altruism Equation

Author : Lee Alan Dugatkin
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691242135
Total Pages : 208 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (912 download)

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Book Synopsis The Altruism Equation by : Lee Alan Dugatkin

Download or read book The Altruism Equation written by Lee Alan Dugatkin and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2022-11-29 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a world supposedly governed by ruthless survival of the fittest, why do we see acts of goodness in both animals and humans? This problem plagued Charles Darwin in the 1850s as he developed his theory of evolution through natural selection. Indeed, Darwin worried that the goodness he observed in nature could be the Achilles heel of his theory. Ever since then, scientists and other thinkers have engaged in a fierce debate about the origins of goodness that has dragged politics, philosophy, and religion into what remains a major question for evolutionary biology. The Altruism Equation traces the history of this debate from Darwin to the present through an extraordinary cast of characters-from the Russian prince Petr Kropotkin, who wanted to base society on altruism, to the brilliant biologist George Price, who fell into poverty and succumbed to suicide as he obsessed over the problem. In a final surprising turn, William Hamilton, the scientist who came up with the equation that reduced altruism to the cold language of natural selection, desperately hoped that his theory did not apply to humans. Hamilton's Rule, which states that relatives are worth helping in direct proportion to their blood relatedness, is as fundamental to evolutionary biology as Newton's laws of motion are to physics. But even today, decades after its formulation, Hamilton's Rule is still hotly debated among those who cannot accept that goodness can be explained by a simple mathematical formula. For the first time, Lee Alan Dugatkin brings to life the people, the issues, and the passions that have surrounded the altruism debate. Readers will be swept along by this fast-paced tale of history, biography, and scientific discovery.

The Altruism Equation

Author : Lee Alan Dugatkin
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 1400841437
Total Pages : 203 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (8 download)

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Book Synopsis The Altruism Equation by : Lee Alan Dugatkin

Download or read book The Altruism Equation written by Lee Alan Dugatkin and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2011-10-30 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a world supposedly governed by ruthless survival of the fittest, why do we see acts of goodness in both animals and humans? This problem plagued Charles Darwin in the 1850s as he developed his theory of evolution through natural selection. Indeed, Darwin worried that the goodness he observed in nature could be the Achilles heel of his theory. Ever since then, scientists and other thinkers have engaged in a fierce debate about the origins of goodness that has dragged politics, philosophy, and religion into what remains a major question for evolutionary biology. The Altruism Equation traces the history of this debate from Darwin to the present through an extraordinary cast of characters-from the Russian prince Petr Kropotkin, who wanted to base society on altruism, to the brilliant biologist George Price, who fell into poverty and succumbed to suicide as he obsessed over the problem. In a final surprising turn, William Hamilton, the scientist who came up with the equation that reduced altruism to the cold language of natural selection, desperately hoped that his theory did not apply to humans. Hamilton's Rule, which states that relatives are worth helping in direct proportion to their blood relatedness, is as fundamental to evolutionary biology as Newton's laws of motion are to physics. But even today, decades after its formulation, Hamilton's Rule is still hotly debated among those who cannot accept that goodness can be explained by a simple mathematical formula. For the first time, Lee Alan Dugatkin brings to life the people, the issues, and the passions that have surrounded the altruism debate. Readers will be swept along by this fast-paced tale of history, biography, and scientific discovery.

The Price of Altruism: George Price and the Search for the Origins of Kindness

Author : Oren Harman
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN 13 : 0393339998
Total Pages : 462 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (933 download)

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Book Synopsis The Price of Altruism: George Price and the Search for the Origins of Kindness by : Oren Harman

Download or read book The Price of Altruism: George Price and the Search for the Origins of Kindness written by Oren Harman and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2011-06-20 with total page 462 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Describes the intellectual journey of eccentric American genius George Price, who tried to answer the evolutionary riddle of why people are nice, and eventually gave away all his belongings and took his own life in a squatter's flat.

Evolutionary Dynamics

Author : Martin A. Nowak
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 0674417755
Total Pages : 390 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (744 download)

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Book Synopsis Evolutionary Dynamics by : Martin A. Nowak

Download or read book Evolutionary Dynamics written by Martin A. Nowak and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2006-09-29 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At a time of unprecedented expansion in the life sciences, evolution is the one theory that transcends all of biology. Any observation of a living system must ultimately be interpreted in the context of its evolution. Evolutionary change is the consequence of mutation and natural selection, which are two concepts that can be described by mathematical equations. Evolutionary Dynamics is concerned with these equations of life. In this book, Martin A. Nowak draws on the languages of biology and mathematics to outline the mathematical principles according to which life evolves. His work introduces readers to the powerful yet simple laws that govern the evolution of living systems, no matter how complicated they might seem. Evolution has become a mathematical theory, Nowak suggests, and any idea of an evolutionary process or mechanism should be studied in the context of the mathematical equations of evolutionary dynamics. His book presents a range of analytical tools that can be used to this end: fitness landscapes, mutation matrices, genomic sequence space, random drift, quasispecies, replicators, the Prisoner’s Dilemma, games in finite and infinite populations, evolutionary graph theory, games on grids, evolutionary kaleidoscopes, fractals, and spatial chaos. Nowak then shows how evolutionary dynamics applies to critical real-world problems, including the progression of viral diseases such as AIDS, the virulence of infectious agents, the unpredictable mutations that lead to cancer, the evolution of altruism, and even the evolution of human language. His book makes a clear and compelling case for understanding every living system—and everything that arises as a consequence of living systems—in terms of evolutionary dynamics.

The Selfish Gene

Author : Richard Dawkins
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 : 9780192860927
Total Pages : 372 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (69 download)

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Book Synopsis The Selfish Gene by : Richard Dawkins

Download or read book The Selfish Gene written by Richard Dawkins and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1989 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Science need not be dull and bogged down by jargon, as Richard Dawkins proves in this entertaining look at evolution. The themes he takes up are the concepts of altruistic and selfish behaviour; the genetical definition of selfish interest; the evolution of aggressive behaviour; kinshiptheory; sex ratio theory; reciprocal altruism; deceit; and the natural selection of sex differences. 'Should be read, can be read by almost anyone. It describes with great skill a new face of the theory of evolution.' W.D. Hamilton, Science

SuperCooperators

Author : Martin Nowak
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1451626630
Total Pages : 354 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (516 download)

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Book Synopsis SuperCooperators by : Martin Nowak

Download or read book SuperCooperators written by Martin Nowak and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-03-27 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Looks at the importance of cooperation in human beings and in nature, arguing that this social tool is as important an aspect of evolution as mutation and natural selection.

Mathematical Models of Social Evolution

Author : Richard McElreath
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 0226558282
Total Pages : 429 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (265 download)

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Book Synopsis Mathematical Models of Social Evolution by : Richard McElreath

Download or read book Mathematical Models of Social Evolution written by Richard McElreath and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2008-09-15 with total page 429 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the last several decades, mathematical models have become central to the study of social evolution, both in biology and the social sciences. But students in these disciplines often seriously lack the tools to understand them. A primer on behavioral modeling that includes both mathematics and evolutionary theory, Mathematical Models of Social Evolution aims to make the student and professional researcher in biology and the social sciences fully conversant in the language of the field. Teaching biological concepts from which models can be developed, Richard McElreath and Robert Boyd introduce readers to many of the typical mathematical tools that are used to analyze evolutionary models and end each chapter with a set of problems that draw upon these techniques. Mathematical Models of Social Evolution equips behaviorists and evolutionary biologists with the mathematical knowledge to truly understand the models on which their research depends. Ultimately, McElreath and Boyd’s goal is to impart the fundamental concepts that underlie modern biological understandings of the evolution of behavior so that readers will be able to more fully appreciate journal articles and scientific literature, and start building models of their own.

Altruism, Morality, and Economic Theory

Author : Edmund S. Phelps
Publisher : Russell Sage Foundation
ISBN 13 : 1610446798
Total Pages : 243 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (14 download)

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Book Synopsis Altruism, Morality, and Economic Theory by : Edmund S. Phelps

Download or read book Altruism, Morality, and Economic Theory written by Edmund S. Phelps and published by Russell Sage Foundation. This book was released on 1975-05-21 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents a collection of papers by economists theorizing on the roles of altruism and morality versus self-interest in the shaping of human behavior and institutions. Specifically, the authors examine why some persons behave in an altruistic way without any apparent reward, thus defying the economist's model of utility maximization. The chapters are accompanied by commentaries from representatives of other disciplines, including law and philosophy.

Ecology of Social Evolution

Author : Judith Korb
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 3540759573
Total Pages : 270 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (47 download)

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Book Synopsis Ecology of Social Evolution by : Judith Korb

Download or read book Ecology of Social Evolution written by Judith Korb and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2008-02-23 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The time is ripe to investigate similarities and differences in the course of social evolution in different animals. This book brings together renowned researchers working on sociality in different animals to deal with the key questions of sociobiology. For the first time, they compile the evidence for the importance of ecological factors in the evolution of social life, ranging from invertebrate to vertebrate social systems, and evaluate its importance versus that of relatedness.

The Impact Equation

Author : Chris Brogan
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 1101572434
Total Pages : 297 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (15 download)

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Book Synopsis The Impact Equation by : Chris Brogan

Download or read book The Impact Equation written by Chris Brogan and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2012-10-25 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Anyone can write a blog post, but not everyone can get it liked thirty-five thousand times, and not everyone can get seventy-five thousand subscribers. But the reason we’ve done these things isn’t because we’re special. It’s because we tried and failed, the same way you learn to ride a bike. We tried again and again, and now we have an idea how to get from point A to point B faster because of it.” Three short years ago, when Chris Brogan and Julien Smith wrote their bestseller, Trust Agents, being interesting and human on the Web was enough to build a significant audience. But now, everybody has a platform. The problem is that most of them are just making noise. In The Impact Equation, Brogan and Smith show that to make people truly care about what you have to say, you need more than just a good idea, trust among your audience, or a certain number of followers. You need a potent mix of all of the above and more. Use the Impact Equation to figure out what you’re doing right and wrong. Apply it to a blog, a tweet, a video, or a mainstream-media advertising campaign. Use it to explain why a feature in a national newspaper that reaches millions might have less impact than a blog post that reaches a thousand passionate subscribers. Consider the phenomenally successful British singer Adele. For most musicians, onstage banter basically consists of yelling “Hello, Cleveland!” But Adele connects with her audience, pausing between songs to discuss a falling-out with her friends, or the drama of a break up. Each of these moments comes off as if she were talking directly with you, and you can easily relate. Adele has Impact. As the traditional channels for marketing, selling, and influencing disappear and more people interact mainly online, the very nature of attention is changing. The Impact Equation will give you the tools and metrics that guarantee your message will be heard.

Does Altruism Exist?

Author : David Sloan Wilson
Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 0300189494
Total Pages : 190 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (1 download)

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Book Synopsis Does Altruism Exist? by : David Sloan Wilson

Download or read book Does Altruism Exist? written by David Sloan Wilson and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2015-01-01 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Argues that altruism is an inherent factor of group functionality and discusses how studying group function can promote positive changes to the human condition.

The Drake Equation

Author : Douglas A. Vakoch
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1107073650
Total Pages : 343 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (7 download)

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Book Synopsis The Drake Equation by : Douglas A. Vakoch

Download or read book The Drake Equation written by Douglas A. Vakoch and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2015-07-02 with total page 343 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Leading scientists and historians explore the equation that guides modern astrobiology's search for life beyond Earth.

The Evolution-Creation Struggle

Author : Michael RUSE
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 0674042972
Total Pages : 336 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (74 download)

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Book Synopsis The Evolution-Creation Struggle by : Michael RUSE

Download or read book The Evolution-Creation Struggle written by Michael RUSE and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-06-30 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In his latest book, Ruse uncovers surprising similarities between evolutionist and creationist thinking. Exploring the underlying philosophical commitments of evolutionists, he reveals that those most hostile to religion are just as evangelical as their fundamentalist opponents. But more crucially, and reaching beyond the biblical issues at stake, he demonstrates that these two diametrically opposed ideologies have, since the Enlightenment, engaged in a struggle for the privilege of defining human origins, moral values, and the nature of reality.

The Evolution of Cooperation

Author : Robert Axelrod
Publisher : Basic Books
ISBN 13 : 0786734884
Total Pages : 258 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (867 download)

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Book Synopsis The Evolution of Cooperation by : Robert Axelrod

Download or read book The Evolution of Cooperation written by Robert Axelrod and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2009-04-29 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A famed political scientist's classic argument for a more cooperative world We assume that, in a world ruled by natural selection, selfishness pays. So why cooperate? In The Evolution of Cooperation, political scientist Robert Axelrod seeks to answer this question. In 1980, he organized the famed Computer Prisoners Dilemma Tournament, which sought to find the optimal strategy for survival in a particular game. Over and over, the simplest strategy, a cooperative program called Tit for Tat, shut out the competition. In other words, cooperation, not unfettered competition, turns out to be our best chance for survival. A vital book for leaders and decision makers, The Evolution of Cooperation reveals how cooperative principles help us think better about everything from military strategy, to political elections, to family dynamics.

Not Born Yesterday

Author : Hugo Mercier
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691208921
Total Pages : 384 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (912 download)

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Book Synopsis Not Born Yesterday by : Hugo Mercier

Download or read book Not Born Yesterday written by Hugo Mercier and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2022-03-22 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why people are not as gullible as we think Not Born Yesterday explains how we decide who we can trust and what we should believe—and argues that we're pretty good at making these decisions. In this lively and provocative book, Hugo Mercier demonstrates how virtually all attempts at mass persuasion—whether by religious leaders, politicians, or advertisers—fail miserably. Drawing on recent findings from political science and other fields ranging from history to anthropology, Mercier shows that the narrative of widespread gullibility, in which a credulous public is easily misled by demagogues and charlatans, is simply wrong. Why is mass persuasion so difficult? Mercier uses the latest findings from experimental psychology to show how each of us is endowed with sophisticated cognitive mechanisms of open vigilance. Computing a variety of cues, these mechanisms enable us to be on guard against harmful beliefs, while being open enough to change our minds when presented with the right evidence. Even failures—when we accept false confessions, spread wild rumors, or fall for quack medicine—are better explained as bugs in otherwise well-functioning cognitive mechanisms than as symptoms of general gullibility. Not Born Yesterday shows how we filter the flow of information that surrounds us, argues that we do it well, and explains how we can do it better still.

Extraterrestrial Altruism

Author : Douglas A. Vakoch
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 3642377505
Total Pages : 325 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (423 download)

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Book Synopsis Extraterrestrial Altruism by : Douglas A. Vakoch

Download or read book Extraterrestrial Altruism written by Douglas A. Vakoch and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-09-14 with total page 325 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Extraterrestrial Altruism examines a basic assumption of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI): that extraterrestrials will be transmitting messages to us for our benefit. This question of whether extraterrestrials will be altruistic has become increasingly important in recent years as SETI scientists have begun contemplating transmissions from Earth to make contact. Technological civilizations that transmit signals for the benefit of others, but with no immediate gain for themselves, certainly seem to be altruistic. But does this make biological sense? Should we expect altruism to evolve throughout the cosmos, or is this only wishful thinking? Is it dangerous to send messages to other worlds, as Stephen Hawking has suggested, or might humankind benefit from an exchange with intelligence elsewhere in the galaxy? Would extraterrestrial societies be based on different ethical principles, or would we see commonalities with Earthly notions of morality? Extraterrestrial Altruism explores these and related questions about the motivations of civilizations beyond Earth, providing new insights that are critical for SETI. Chapters are authored by leading scholars from diverse disciplines—anthropology, astronomy, biology, chemistry, computer science, cosmology, engineering, history of science, law, philosophy, psychology, public policy, and sociology. The book is carefully edited by Douglas Vakoch, Director of Interstellar Message Composition at the SETI Institute and professor of clinical psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies. The Foreword is by Frank Drake. This interdisciplinary book will benefit everybody trying to understand whether evolution and ethics are unique to Earth, or whether they are built into the fabric of the universe.

Cheating Monkeys and Citizen Bees

Author : Lee Alan Dugatkin
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780674001671
Total Pages : 228 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (16 download)

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Book Synopsis Cheating Monkeys and Citizen Bees by : Lee Alan Dugatkin

Download or read book Cheating Monkeys and Citizen Bees written by Lee Alan Dugatkin and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Here biologist Lee Dugatkin outlines four paths to cooperation shared by humans and other animals: family dynamics, reciprocal transactions (or "tit for tat"), so-called selfish teamwork, and group altruism. He draws on a wealth of examples—from babysitting among mongooses and food sharing among vampire bats to cooperation in Hutterite communities and on kibbutzim—o show not only that cooperation exists throughout the animal kingdom, but how an understanding of the natural history of altruism might foster our own best instincts toward our fellow humans.