SpringerLink Springer Biomedical and Life Sciences eBooks 2017 English+International

Incluye referencias bibliográficas e índice

1 The Human Puzzle; Abstract; The Breakdown of Self; Cooperation and Life; Life; References; 2 Your Physical Self; Abstract; Genes; Simple Cells-Prokaryotes; More Complex Cells-Eukaryotes; Multi-cellularity; Mobile Eco-systems; References; 3 Your Psychological Self; Abstract; A Soulless Existence; Majority Rule; Surely There Is Something More?; References; 4 Easily Explicable Cooperation and Natural Selection; Abstract; Mutual Gain; Natural Selection; Proximate and Ultimate Explanations; Group Selection; Behavioral Genetics; References; 5 Family; Abstract; Warning Calls.

Eusociality-Ants, Wasps and BeesA Challenge; Eusociality-Termites and Naked Mole Rats; Kin Selection in Humans; References; 6 Friends; Abstract; The Prisoners' Dilemma; Examples from the Animal World?; The Social Brain; Other Possible Genetic Explanations of Cooperation; We Are Not Them: About Our Closest Relatives; Reciprocity in Humans; References; 7 Humanity-The Paragon of Cooperation?; Abstract; Games of Cooperation; A Huge Mistake?; Cultural Group Selection; Nature or Nurture; Cultural Explanations for Extreme Cooperation; References; 8 Language; Abstract; The Structure of Human Language.

The Evolution of LanguageThe Green Beards of Language; The Second Replicator; References; 9 The Last Piece of the Puzzle?-Cooperation Over Our Heads; Abstract; A Slow History; Cultural Evolution; Cultural Evolutionary Explanations of Cooperation; Networks; The Software; References; 10 Epilogue: The Human Super Organism; Abstract; Characteristics of Synergistic Cooperation; How to Harness Idea Collectives; References; Index.

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 lifeℓ́ℓs fundamental principles. We are all made of parts ℓ́ℓ genes, cells, organs, neurons, but also of ideas, or ℓ́ℓmemesℓ́ℓ. Our societies too are made of parts ℓ́ℓ 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 oneℓ́ℓs life for country, religion or freedom? The answers seem to reside in the two processes that have shaped humanity: biological and cultural evolution.