For Whose Benefit?: The Biological and Cultural Evolution of Human Cooperation

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 heads108