Natural Selection and Social Theory: Selected Papers of Robert Trivers (Evolution and Cognition)

by Robert Trivers (Author)

6 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0195130621

ISBN-10: 0195130626

Why is ISBN important?

Sell yours for a Gift Card
We'll buy it for up to $14.7
Learn More
Trade in now

Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon

Added to

Unable to add item to List. Please try again.

Share

Condition: Used - Good

In Stock. Sold by Dianakutzner, Fulfilled by Amazon

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

22 Used from $31.00

Deliver to France

Turn on 1-Click ordering

In Stock.

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

This item ships to France. Want it Friday, Oct. 19? Choose AmazonGlobal Priority Shipping at checkout. Learn more

List Price: $61.00
Save: $6.10 (10%)

22 New from $42.99

Deliver to France

Turn on 1-Click ordering

More Buying Choices

22 New from $42.99 22 Used from $31.00

44 used & new from $31.00

See All Buying Options

Free Two-Day Shipping for College Students with Amazon Student

Robert Trivers is a pioneering figure in the field of sociobiology. For Natural Selection and Social Theory, he has selected eleven of his most influential papers, including several classic papers from the early 1970s on the evolution of reciprocal altruism, parent-offspring conflicts, and asymmetry in sexual selection, which helped to establish the centrality of sociobiology, as well as some of his later work on deceit in signalling, sex antagonistic genes, and imprinting. Trivers introduces each paper, setting them in their contemporary context, and critically evaluating them in the light of subsequent work and further developments. The result is a unique portrait of the intellectual development of sociobiology, with valuable insights for evolutionary biology, anthropology, and psychology.

Frequently bought together

+
+

Total price: $86.88

Buy the selected items together

This item:Natural Selection and Social Theory: Selected Papers of Robert Trivers (Evolution and Cognition) by Robert Trivers Paperback $54.90
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping. Details
The Folly of Fools: The Logic of Deceit and Self-Deception in Human Life by Robert Trivers Paperback $18.99
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
Wild Life: Adventures of an Evolutionary Biologist by Robert Trivers Paperback $12.99
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Robert Trivers

79

Paperback
$18.99
Austin Burt

9

Paperback
$31.45
Robert Trivers

21

Paperback
$12.99
Richard Dawkins

853

Paperback
$13.68
Randolph M. Nesse

78

Paperback
$17.00
Robert Trivers

1

Paperback
16 offers from $20.60

Sponsored products related to this item (What's this?)

Page 1 of 1Start overPage 1 of 1

Feedback

Ivan Antic

Discover your Soul purpose while embarking on a journey that is inspiring and everlasting. Get ready for a whole new view on the subject of the Soul.

4

Paperback
$9.00
Feedback

Ken Heptig

Ace your daily challenges from health, work, and relationships. Find more happiness and meaning. Follows the ancient wisdom of the 8 Limbs of Yoga.

17

Kindle Edition
$9.99
Feedback

Patrick Pasha

Everything explained. Reduce all issues to problem solving and become unstoppable.

11

Kindle Edition
$2.99

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert L. Trivers is at Rutgers University.

Product details

Series: Evolution and Cognition
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press (September 5, 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0195130626
ISBN-13: 978-0195130621
Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 0.9 x 6.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 6 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #499,778 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #186 in Books > Textbooks > Science & Mathematics > Biology & Life Sciences > Botany
- #215 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Anthropology > Physical
- #281 in Books > Textbooks > Science & Mathematics > Biology & Life Sciences > Zoology

Would you like to tell us about a lower price?
If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller support?

Be the first video

Your name here

Try the Kindle edition and experience these great reading features:

See Kindle Edition

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars

3 star (0%)

2 star (0%)

1 star (0%)

Write a customer review

See all 6 customer reviews

Top customer reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

NOT in the least dated must-read for those who wish to better understand the social deception used by all humans, all the time.

January 22, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I've always felt that what humans claim as intelligence was merely social solipsism: Humans are very obviously involved in deception, detecting social deception, and gauging perceived reciprocity, which is not the same as actual reciprocity. All scial species appear t assess individuals of theri own and other species, in order to predict likely future behaviors - to be able to choose how and whether they want to interact. Wolves, for instance and dogs, both recognize deception. One day recently, a raven was stashing food on my wooden roof, and became visibly worried when seeing me observing, desiring to continue, but instead removing and re-hiding the items, suddenly flustered and indecisive.

Such developmental concepts as Theory of Mind are highly involved with merely testing the ability of children to detect whether an individual understands deception; whereas other species remain strongly tied to sensory attention to predict probable actions of others. I have observed useful deception in several unrelated mammal species, but the social primates are most involved in temporary, bicycle-breakaway type temporary amicability, later willing to stab a friend in the back to gain status/reproductive opportunity.

Primates scheme socially, the human most egregiously, and our overvaunted forebrain requires even more additional associative area to necessarily become larger as well. This evolutionist persp[ective explores why what we exhibit contrasts with what we imagine we are. Presently, fMRI and other imaging shows how much of our brain is used in this scheming and detection.

Psychologists and behavioral science majors are desperately in need of this compilation, without which they will merely bumble along, religiously misconceiving, keeping us in the dark ages.

Way back in the 1970s Trivers began to understand that we are so good at Machiavellian scamming that in order to successfully deceive others we may indeed have to deceive ourselves. I think the book will even give insight into why and how the DSM changes so much. The public, including especially those who pursue leadership, war, competition and other specious symbols of social status, are unmasked within.

This conversational publication of early work and realizations is a MUST-READ for those who wish to understand human sociality. While the species does have some good attributes, this book will help ground your understanding that most of our social cognition is developed through fantasy and imagination to maximize our relative social status.

Ludwig von Beethoven once said that music is a higher revelation than all religion or philosophy. Trivers here ties together the symphony of his work. As you will see with an understanding of biopsychology, neurology, comparative animal behavior and cognition now being discovered, even the soaring achievements of music, poetry, mathematics, science, physical arts, quickly become mere tools for human climbing over others.

I have not finished the book yet, but new brain mapping and a broad understanding of comparative ethology back up Trivers' hypotheses.

Comment

November 29, 2002

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Those of us who are interested in the stories behind just HOW major breakthroughs in evolutionary and ecological thought were made have been spoiled in recent years: First there was W.D. Hamilton's marvelous 2 volume NARROW ROADS OF GENE LAND, now we get Bob Triver's wonderful NATURAL SELECTION AND SOCIAL THEORY. Here, in one place, one can find most of Trivers' revolutionary work on the evolution of social behavior, and as an added bonus one also gets Trivers' unvarnished -and often highly entertaining- commentary on just how he came to put together the ideas that -love 'em or hate 'em- provided much of the driving force behind Sociobiology & ultimately lead to Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Psychology. Along the way we are introduced to a fascinating cast of characters, ranging from Ernst Mayr, the foremost living Darwinian, through the neo-Marxist wing of Harvard, to Huey Newton, ex-Minister of Defense for the Black Panthers. Trivers' thinking is as eclectic and far ranging as the list of his friends and enemies, and while many of his subjects (altruism, parent-offspring conflict, fluctuating asymmetry, etc.) are still at the cutting edge of evolutionary thought, his writing is sufficiently free of jargon that I think it will draw in even the non-specialist. You may not agree with everything that Trivers says here -and I suspect that some folks will be offended by his candor- but this is a really important book & I see it as essential reading for any of us interested in the question of why we may do so many of the things that we do. Bravo!

33 people found this helpful

Comment

These are reprints of scholarly works. They are not ...

November 21, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

These are reprints of scholarly works. They are not entertaining except to those interested in the seminal arguments that led to "accepted" theories of the evolution of Altruism and Parental Investment. As such they are very interesting.

David Sackett

One person found this helpful

Comment

After all these years

April 21, 2009

Format: Paperback

When I was doing my doctoral work, I took a psychology class from a wonderful young professor. He introduced us to Robert Trivers,then at Harvard. It's been nearly 30 years since I received my degree and I have never forgotten that name nor the fascinating research with which we were presented. I have often made references to his work in the classes I taught but I never pursued my own suggestion to "go read Trivers." When this book popped up on my Amazon page, I decided it was karma and I ordered it. I was not disappointed. This is not an easy read and I don't for one minute pretend to understand the equations, but Trivers' introductions to each article are well written and often humorous. The research itself still holds as much fascination for me as it did when I was a young doc student. Give it a try.

11 people found this helpful

Comment

Classic paper, plus plus why, PLUS where too now

February 27, 2006

Format: Paperback

This book contains all of Robert Triver's best papers.

In addition, each is book-ended between a two short essays outlining the background to Professor Trivers' initial exploration and thinking behind the paper, often including quite intriguing sociological contexts. Then, which is extremely valuable, Triver's brings the reader up-to-date with the subsequent history of the idea in that paper: who did it influence? Does he still believe it? What is the current hot take on the area?

It is a magnificent tribute to a life-time of work, and valuable for anyone active in the area of evolution.

14 people found this helpful

Comment

Essential reading for social scientists and others

February 11, 2004

Format: Paperback

This is a beautiful book. It combines seminal papers with anecdotes and a post-scripts which place the paper in their context and make it easier for those of us who have been consumers of socio-biology to better appreciate the significance of the ideas presented. Trivers is a compelling writer and this book is a true gift to anybody curious about human psyche and behaviour. Highly recommended.

14 people found this helpful

Comment

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

Natural Selection and Social Theory: Selected Papers of Robert Trivers (Evolution and Cognition)

Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway

This item: Natural Selection and Social Theory: Selected Papers of Robert Trivers (Evolution and Cognition)

Set up a giveaway

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Robert Trivers

4

Paperback
$11.88
Robert Trivers

79

Paperback
$18.99
Robert Trivers

21

Paperback
$12.99
Austin Burt

9

Paperback
$31.45
Robert Trivers

1

Paperback
16 offers from $20.60
David Buss

91

Paperback
$138.76

English United States

Conditions of Use
Privacy Notice
Interest-Based Ads
© 1996-2018, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates