Overview

This book is about the evolution and nature of cooperation and altruism in social-living animals, focusing especially on non-human primates and on humans. Although cooperation and altruism are often thought of as ways to attenuate competition and aggression within groups, or are related to the action of 'selfish genes', there is increasing evidence that these behaviors are the result of biological mechanisms that have developed through natural selection in group-living species. This evidence leads to the conclusion that cooperative and altruistic behavior are not just by-products of competition but are rather the glue that underlies the ability for primates and humans to live in groups. The anthropological, primatological, paleontological, behavioral, neurobiological, and psychological evidence provided in this book gives a more optimistic view of human nature than the more popular, conventional view of humans being naturally and basically aggressive and warlike. Although competition and aggression are recognized as an important part of the non-human primate and human behavioral repertoire, the evidence from these fields indicates that cooperation and altruism may represent the more typical, 'normal', and healthy behavioral pattern. The book is intended both for the general reader and also for students at a variety of levels (graduate and undergraduate): it aims to provide a compact, accessible, and up-to-date account of the current scholarly advances and debates in this field of study, and it is designed to be used in teaching and in discussion groups.

Full Product Details

Author:   Robert W. Sussman ,  C. Robert Cloninger
Publisher:   Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
Imprint:   Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
Edition:   Edition. ed.
ISBN:  

9781441994066

ISBN 10:   1441994068
Pages:   350
Publication Date:   30 April 2011
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Unknown
Availability:   Out of stock  

Table of Contents

Introduction (Robert W. Sussman and C. Robert Cloninger, Washington University, St. Louis) Part I Cooperation, Altruism and Human Evolution 1. Introduction. (Bernard Wood, George Washington University 2. The Influence of Predation on Primate and Early Human Evolution: Impetus for Cooperation. (D. Hart, U. of Missouri, St. Louis, R.W. Sussman, Washington U.) 3. The Importance of Cooperation and Sociality in Human Evolution. (T. Pievani, University of Milan) Part II Altruism and Cooperation Among Non-human Primates 4. Introduction (R.W. Sussman) 5. Macaca, Cebus, and Homo: Primates, Niche-construction, and the Role of Bonding and Manipulation Social Cooperation and Altruism (A. Fuentes, U. Notre Dame) and K. MacKinnon (St. Louis University) 6. Relationships Between Male Affiliation and Mating Strategies in Howler Monkeys. (P. Garber, U. Illinois, and M. Kowalewski, Natural History Museum, Argentina) 7. Behavioral Plasticity and Mechanisms of Primate Sociality. (K.B. Strier, U. Wisconsin) 8. Cooperation, Bonding, and Social Cohesion: A Comparison of Spider and Howler Monkeys. (M. Pavelka, U. Calgary) Part III Altruism and Cooperation Among Humans: The Ethnographic Evidence 9. Introduction. (B. Knauft, Emory University) 10. What the Nomadic Forager Model Reveals about Human Potential for Conflict Management, Cooperation, and Altruism. (D. Fry, A...bo Akademi University, Finland) 11. Born to Live: Challenging Killer Myths. (B.Ferguson, Rutgers U.). 12. Love and Metamorphosis. (W. Goldschmidt, U.C.L.A.) Part IV Neurological and hormonal mechanisms for cooperation and altruism 13. Introduction (J. Phillips-Conroy, Washington University, St. Louis) 14. The Neurobiology of Cooperation and Altruism. (J. Rilling, Emory U.) 15. Behavioral and Neuroendocrine Interactions in Affiliation..(C. Snowdon, U.) 16. Early Social Experience and the Ontogenesis of Emotion Regulatory Behavior in Children (S. Pollak, U. Wisconsin) 17. Understanding the Neurobiology of Personality and its Role in Well-being. (S. Kedia, U. Colorado School of Medicine, and C.R. Cloninger) Part V Human Altruism and Cooperation: Needs and the Promotion of Well-being in Modern Life 18. Introduction (J.E. Mezzich, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, NYU) 19. The Direction of Evolution: Growth towards Self-awareness, Altruism and Well- Being (CR Cloninger) 20. Altruism and Spirituality as Forms of Relational Consciousness and How Culture Inhibits Them. (David Hay, U. Aberdeen) 21. Promotion of Well-Being in Education. (KM Cloninger, Anthropaideia Foundation) 22. Promotion of Well-Being in Health Care (Lauren Munsch, Washington University School of Medicine, and Helen Herrman, The University of Melbourne) 23. Promotion of Cooperation in Transdisciplinary Research (across fields with Different paradigms, assumptions, and languages) (D. Blazer, Duke University Medical Center)

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