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The Price of Altruism: George Price and the Search for the Origins of Kindness by [Harman, Oren]

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The Price of Altruism: George Price and the Search for the Origins of Kindness Kindle Edition

by Oren Harman (Author)

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"Enthralling." —Frans de Waal, New York Times Book Review

Survival of the fittest or survival of the nicest? Since the dawn of time man has contemplated the mystery of altruism, but it was Darwin who posed the question most starkly. From the selfless ant to the stinging bee to the man laying down his life for a stranger, evolution has yielded a goodness that in theory should never be.

Set against the sweeping tale of 150 years of scientific attempts to explain kindness, The Price of Altruism tells for the first time the moving story of the eccentric American genius George Price (1922–1975), as he strives to answer evolution's greatest riddle. An original and penetrating picture of twentieth century thought, it is also a deeply personal journey. From the heights of the Manhattan Project to the inspired equation that explains altruism to the depths of homelessness and despair, Price's life embodies the paradoxes of Darwin’s enigma. His tragic suicide in a squatter’s flat, among the vagabonds to whom he gave all his possessions, provides the ultimate contemplation on the possibility of genuine benevolence.

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Product details

File Size: 2157 KB
Print Length: 464 pages
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (June 17, 2010)
Publication Date: June 20, 2011
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B003R7L91C
Text-to-Speech: Enabled

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Not Enabled

Word Wise: Enabled
Lending: Not Enabled
Screen Reader: Supported

Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #410,331 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #80 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Philanthropy & Charity
- #86 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Biographies & Memoirs > Professionals & Academics > Social Scientists & Psychologists
- #262 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Professionals & Academics > Social Scientists & Psychologists

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3.9 out of 5 stars

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A tremendous accomplishment and a great read, about a complex man and his flaws.

March 26, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

It would take hours to do justice reviewing this book. Although the cover indicates it is primarily about George Price and his work, it is in fact a sweeping discussion of the development of the theory of altruism and the many well known scientists involved in its development. You will find discussions about Darwin, Huxley, R.A. Fischer, JBS Haldane and many others and their contribution to the theory. As a biology and statistics major (way back in the 70's), I was blown away by the breadth of this book. If you want greater depth into the story, the copious endnotes give you a great starting point. The key role of George Price in developing a mathematical expression for explaining altruism covers approx. the last fifth of the book, although he makes appearances thru-out the book, interacting with some of the greatest minds in genetics, theoretical biology, computer science, statistics and more. A tremendous accomplishment and a great read.

edit: sorry - last fifth of book concerns the last years of Price's life, his contribution to the mathematical theory of altruism comes earlier.

9 people found this helpful

Comment

A Personal Story for the Greater Good

March 6, 2011

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This is an intriguing biography of George Price, a little-known population geneticist, interwoven with an intellectual history of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. While the story of Price's life is diverting and compelling in its own right, the real thrill of this book is that it unveils some very contemporary improvements in the science of group selection and, as the subtitle suggests, the origins of kindness. Oren Harmen does a great job picking through the advanced statistics and elements of game theory that led to Price's most substantial breakthrough, giving the reader a good commonsense understanding of how individual and group behaviors can both be perpetuated through evolutionarily stable strategies.

Yes, Price did end his life after a rather spectacular descent into homelessness and futile ministrations to a community of destitute alcoholics, but the attempts that Harmen makes to link the body of Price's professional work to his personal life are a bit of a stretch. While there is an appealing symmetry to the study of altruism and the surrendering of one's autonomy to the idea of Jesus Christ, there seems to be little indication that Price's late-life fundamentalism and erratic behavior correlated meaningfully with his relatively passionless theorizing. What make it a good story is that it comes together in meaningful ways in the imagination of the reader, rather than in the life of the subject.

10 people found this helpful

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Michael C. Newman

The price of Altruism

November 14, 2010

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Harman's The Price of Altruism is an engaging read that explores the personality and life of George Price as he works through his major contributions to the population genetics of altruistic behavior. Nuanced concepts of population genetics are introduced cleverly without unnecessary detail. The inclusion of only a few equations in the text is remarkable: this topic is difficult to explain without equations. Also the personality of Prince is slowly explored without any emotional treatment of this peculiar man who was such a poor husband and father. Instead, Price's behavior is contrasted artfully to his lifelong attempt to explain the basis of altruism.
The only negative feature of the book is the abrupt transitions in topic, especially at the beginning where Harman establishes the historical context for the story. The reader is dropped into a series of short presentations of various people who will be relevant later in the book. Also Harman's wordsmithing requires the reader to stop occasionally to mentally rewrite a difficult sentence to produce a clearer one. Regardless of these minor technical issues, the topic is an extremely interesting one that Harman presents in remarkable detail. He took the task of researching the topic and man very seriously. The result is an exceptional treatment of George Price and an extremely clear presentation of the underpinnings of altruistic behavior.

15 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

I wanted to like this book

September 28, 2018

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I read this book all the way through, hoping that I would get a feel for the main character but it didn't happen. Not sure that this was because of George Price himself or the way that he was depicted.

Comment

Fascinating book - reads like a mystery

July 14, 2010

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

If you like Simon Singh Malcolm Gladwell and Sylvia Nasar you must read this book! Harman is able to combine Singh's ability to make complicated science accessible and interesting, Gladwell's skill in telling a captivating story and Nasar's talent for bringing a person back to life - all in one book.

The Price of Altrisum is not simply a biography of a genius, but also a fascinating tale that charts the quest to answer one of the biggest hurdles evolution had to overcome - why would an animal act kindly to another unrelated animal in a world of 'survival of the fittest?'

The biggest appeal for me in the book was that Harman was able not only to tell how masterminds all over the world pondered the problem of kindness (and what they discovered!) but at the same time explains their science and showcases their personality.

I recommended the book to all my friends this year.

33 people found this helpful

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