Cheating Monkeys and Citizen Bees: The Nature of Cooperation in Animals and Humans [Paperback]

Lee Dugatkin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 7, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0674001672 | ISBN-13: 978-0674001671 | Edition: 1

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.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Man," Aristotle observes in his treatise The Politics, "is by nature a social creature." In this lively book of popular science, Lee Dugatkin takes a close look at the inescapable fact that humans are indeed social creatures whose instinct, it seems, is to aid one another in times of need. He examines the ways in which thinkers of various stripes have considered this subject. Economists, for instance, conceive of a "rational man" who acts cooperatively when the benefits of doing so outweigh the costs; theologians depict humans as being inherently good and thus inclined to kindness; some biologists take the matter of human cooperation as being a more sophisticated expression of cooperation in animal societies (to which Dugatkin rejoins, "animals show us a stripped-down version of what behavior in a given circumstance would look like without our moral will and freedom"). In the face of such views, Dugatkin proposes no dogma of his own. Instead, he takes up one interesting question after another (Do sparrows help one another locate food out of self-interest? What prompts a soldier to fall on a grenade to save nearby comrades? Is blood thicker than water?), expertly leading his readers through contending scientific and philosophical theories while seeking the answers. --Gregory McNamee --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Evolutionary biologist Dugatkin (Cooperation Among Animals) is unabashed in his belief that "the study of evolution and animal behavior can be used to foster and enhance cooperation in humans." Without resorting to simple minded biological determinism, he argues forcefully that the behavioral predisposition of humans may be predicted by evolution. Thus, he asserts that research in animal behavior can provide baseline information about parallel behavior in (admittedly more complex) humanity. Such investigations may ultimately help us better understand the underpinnings of human behavior and allow us to restructure our environments to promote more cooperation. Dugatkin explains that cooperation arises through four pathways, "family dynamics, reciprocal transactions, selfish teamwork, and group altruism." He devotes one chapter to each pathway, clearly explaining the underlying evolutionary theory and providing myriad animal examples. His fascinating instances range widely from vampire bats willing to regurgitate blood for starving neighbors to mongooses who take turns baby-sitting. Each chapter concludes with an attempt to tie the lessons learned from animals to suggestions for public policy issues as diverse as class size in elementary schools and partnering in police departments. These applications, however, are the weakest part of an otherwise startling and eye-opening glimpse into the evolution of behavior.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press; 1 edition (April 7, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674001672
• ISBN-13: 978-0674001671
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #742,085 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

"Mr. Jefferson and the Giant Moose" brings together my two loves: American History (especially Revolutionary War era history) and Biology. I have never had as much fun researching and writing a book as I did with "Mr. Jefferson and the Giant Moose." I hope it brings you as much joy as it brought me.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Approachable summary of the field with unique perspective, October 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: CHEATING MONKEYS AND CITIZEN BEES : The NATURE of COOPERATION in ANIMALS and HUMANS (Hardcover)

Dugatkin does a great job integrating the work of others and his own research into an easily read and approachable book for the educated layperson. He draws on the behvioral literature to show how insights from this growing body of work can be useful to human societies as they evolve culturally and seek to organize themselves in a way which strikes a balance between the needs of the indivdual and those of the group. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this book is the straight-forward way in which Dugatkin approaches the dynamics between the precepts of behavioral biology and human spirituality. It is rare to find a behavioral biologist (or any biologist for that matter) who even tries to approach the subject of the interplay of spirituality and an acceptance of evolutionary mechanisms. More such openess to acknowledge the spiritual side to understanding human dymanics (whether the spirit is "real" or just a construct invented by our genes to help our brains make sense of parts of our world) is needed in science.

All in all, a very engaging book which made me want to purchase more by the author. A 4 out of 5 stars from me.

JJ

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An quality, informative read!, October 7, 1999

By 

Noam Freedman (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: CHEATING MONKEYS AND CITIZEN BEES : The NATURE of COOPERATION in ANIMALS and HUMANS (Hardcover)

This book is a study in the potential for cooperation between author and reader...In addition to finding "Monkeys & Bees" an informative, and at times, entertaining read, I enjoyed Lee Alan Dugatkin's writing style, he avoids standard textbook rhythms that can make learning tedious, and injects enough of his personality that I felt engaged, not lectured. The questions are posed, the research presented, but I feel that ultimately the conclusions are up to me.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cheating Monkeys and Citizen Bees, March 29, 2000

By 

Atheen M. Wilson "Atheen" (Mpls, MN United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: CHEATING MONKEYS AND CITIZEN BEES : The NATURE of COOPERATION in ANIMALS and HUMANS (Hardcover)

I enjoyed the book, although it took me a while to really get into it. In general it covers the growth of cooperation from a genetic probabilities perspective. It is a sort of "cost accounting" of cooperation to the participants, whether related individuals in a "family" or only very distantly related individuals in a societal group. Since I had not read anything similar and the book was simply and clearly written, I found it interesting and provocative. Someone with a more thorough grounding in the field might find it overly simplistic.