Index

absolute fitness, 21, 38, 66

abuse, 109, 136

accounting methods, 36, 37, 39–44

Achebe, Chinua, 138–39

actions, beneficial, 84, 86

adaptations

environment and, 78

evolution and, 56, 78–79, 133–34

group-level, 78

human society and, 56

religion and, 80

adaptive radiation, 56, 153n1

African buffaloes, 15

Alexander, Richard, 33

algorithms, 55

altruism, 3

action based, 7–9, 16–17, 22, 29, 38, 60, 65, 69–71, 73, 81, 88, 116–17

appearance/cost of, 17, 80–81

behavior and, 13–14, 22–25, 80, 141–42

Comte and, 89

cooperation and, 52

cultural evolution and, 69

definition of, 4, 82–83, 86–87

equivalence and, 44–45

evolution of, 22, 34, 39, 42, 45

extinction and, 24

functional organization and, 29, 71–72, 141

group-level selection and, 34, 38–39, 81

in groups, 22–23, 27, 29, 141

human-nonhuman, 72–73

meaning of, 7–8

motives and, 69, 141–42

outcomes of, 133

pathological, 133, 135–36

philosophical systems and, 83

prosociality and, 129–30

psychology and, 60–61, 65, 68–70, 151n3

relative fitness and, 29

religion and, 79–80, 82, 83–84, 89, 91

selfish behavior and, 22–27, 32, 34–35, 38, 45, 61, 71–72

in social environments, 116

thought and feeling based, 8, 16–17, 60–62, 71, 73, 82, 91, 112, 143, 149

altruistic action, 4

behavior based on, 80

cultural evolution and, 69–70

environment and, 70

proximate mechanism and, 70–71

altruistic goals, 6–7

altruistic instinct, 90

altruists, 155n10

Aristotle, 83

assets, 117

assumptions, 100, 101

Atlas Shrugged (Rand), 96

atoms, 98–99

average fitness, 40, 42, 43

bacteria, 25–26, 27–28, 48

bees, 13–14, 17, 76, 96, 106

behavior, 81. See also prosociality; selfish behavior

altruistic, 13–14, 22–25, 80, 141–42

deviant, 138

disruptive, 89, 146

flexibility of, 122–24

good, 89

group and, 89

of individuals, 50–51

predatory, 111, 112

relative fitness and, 80

religion and, 80

Beinhocker, Eric, 98

benefit-cost equivalence, 12

between-group selection, 42, 71, 73, 81

Binghamton, New York, 115, 118–20, 123, 127

Binghamton Neighborhood Project, 116, 157n1

business, 130

calculus, 98

causation. See proximate causation; ultimate causation

cells, 28, 105–6

cheating, 137–38

Chilton, Bruce, 4, 82, 83–84

Christianity, 81, 83–84, 88, 91

codependent relationships, 135, 136

coefficient of relatedness, 43–44

cognition, distinctive, 52

Cognition in the Wild (Hutchins), 10

Cold-Blooded Kindness (Oakley), 135–37

collaboration, 138

collective action, 144

collective decisions, 13–15

collective-choice arrangements, 12, 65

coloration, 63

common good, 7, 101, 107, 125, 139

common-pool resources (CPR)

core design principles of, 11–13, 65–70, 124–27, 147

effective management and, 11–13, 147

communal activity, 51–52

community-based research, 116

competition, 49, 138

Comte, Auguste, 4, 89–91, 94, 98, 142–43

configurations of thought, 35, 37

conflict of interest, 102

conflict resolution, 12, 66

conscious awareness, 108

consequences, 48

cooperation, 33

altruism and, 52

functional organization and, 52

among humans, 72–73

in nonhuman, 49, 153n3

coordinated social process, 14–15

core design principles, 11–13, 65–70, 124–27, 147

corruption, 109–10, 139

CPR. See common-pool resources

CPR groups, 68–70

cultural evolution, 86, 88, 109, 112, 120

adaptations and, 79

adaptive radiation in, 56

altruism and, 69

altruistic action and, 69–70

analogy for, 100

between-group selection, 81

mechanisms and, 114

milk and, 64–65, 68

multilevel, 144–45

proximate mechanism and, 69–70

religion and, 79

cultural group selection, 79, 101, 108

cultural inheritance, 57

cultural traits, 154n23

DAP. See Developmental Assets Profile

Darwin, Charles, 4–5, 31–32, 34, 53–54, 61–62

decisionmaking, 13–15, 106

depression, 135

The Descent of Man (Darwin), 31–32

design principles. See core design principles

destructive relationships, 135–36

development, healthy, 117

Developmental Assets Profile (DAP), 116–17, 120, 123, 124, 127

deviance, 138

disruptive behavior, 89, 146

distinctive cognition, 52

diversity, 36–37, 145

Dixon, Thomas, 90–91

dysfunctions, 109–10, 137–39

E. coli (Escherichia coli), 25–26

eating disorders, 135

economic activity, 98–99

economic systems, 99, 100–101, 108–9

economic theory, 99–100

economics

greed and, 96, 97

metaphors and, 96–97

neoclassical, 100

self-interest and, 104–5

economy, 95, 106

ecosystems, biological, 111

efficacious groups, 137

egoism, 60, 66, 143

egoists, 3, 155n10

egotistic instinct, 90

Eldakar, Omar, 23–25

empathy, 135

environment. See also social environment

adaptation and, 78

altruistic action and, 70

challenges with, 144

response to, 123

symbolic relations and, 53

environmental factors, 52–53, 118, 120, 122–23, 124

equilibrium selection, 153n10

equivalence, 35–36, 153n10

altruism and, 44–45

benefit-cost, 12

concept of, 37, 42, 44, 72

proportional, 65

ethics, 71

evolution, 17, 26, 28, 100, 148. See also cultural evolution; genetic evolution

adaptations and, 56, 78–79, 133–34

of altruism, 22, 34, 39, 42, 45

books on, 77–78

forces of, 79

foundational principles of, 19–20

functional organization and, 21–22, 45, 71–72

gene-culture, 56–57, 64–65

historical process of, 57, 63

humans and, 47, 49–50

of intelligence, 52–53

milk and, 64

of moral conduct, 32

natural selection and, 21–22

of preference and abilities, 107

religion and, 77–80

symbolic thought and, 53–54

total population and, 40

Evolution Institute, 6, 94, 115–16, 127, 134, 147, 156n2

evolutionary algorithms, 55

evolutionary change, 39–40

evolutionary game theory, 32, 42–43, 45

evolutionary perspective, 88, 101, 148, 157n7

evolutionary processes, 55, 100

evolutionary research, 115

evolutionary theory, 5–6, 37, 43, 61, 131, 146–48

natural selection and, 71–72

predictions and, 62

of social behavior, 72, 121

evolutionary transitions, 47–50, 73, 148

EvoS, 93, 115–16

explanation, 69

exploitation, 33, 109–10, 113–14

extinction, 21, 24–26

field studies, 115

2008 financial crisis, 94, 104–5

fitness. See also inclusive fitness theory; relative fitness

absolute, 21, 38, 66

average, 40, 42, 43

design principles and, 67

difference, 22, 39

of genes, 43

of individual, 23

Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt (Lewis), 109–12

flexibility, 122–24

forgiveness, 75–76

free movement, 25

Friedman, Milton, 95, 100–102

friendship, 83

functional design, 10, 62–63

functional organization, 145–46

altruism and, 29, 71–72, 141

cooperation and, 52

evolution and, 21–22, 45, 71–72

in groups, 9–11, 13, 16, 17, 27, 143, 147

in humans societies, 16, 51–52

law and, 139

at level of action, 61

molecular, 28

multilevel selection theory and, 71–72

natural selection in, 21–22

in nonhuman societies, 13–14, 16

organisms and, 28

selection and, 28–29, 48

fundamentalism, 103–5, 113

gene-culture coevolution, 56–57, 64–65

general equilibrium model, 97–98

genes, 43, 53–54, 105–6

genetic evolution, 19, 79, 120, 144

adaptive radiation in, 56

analogies for, 100

mechanisms and, 113–14

milk and, 63–64, 68

religion and, 79

genetic inheritance, 56–57, 145

genetics, 57, 122–24

genotype-phenotype relationship, 53

genotypic combinations, 53

Ghiselin, Michael, 33

givers, 130

goals, 6–7, 125

good behavior, 89

goodwill, 95

governance, 12–13, 147–48

Governing the Commons (Ostrom), 13

graduated sanctions, 65

Grant, Adam, 130–31

Greco-Roman philosophy, 83–84

greed, 95–97, 101, 104, 130. See also self-interest

Green, William Scott, 4, 82–87

Greenspan, Alan, 104–5

group coordination, 12–13, 66

group fitness, 21, 38, 66

group minds, 15–16

group-level adaptation, 78

group-level cognition, 15–16

group-level functional organization. See functional organization

group-level selection, 35, 42–43, 71, 80, 152n4–152n5, 153n10

altruism and, 34, 38–39, 81

cultural, 79, 101, 108

functional organization and, 48

major evolutionary transition and, 73

rejection of, 41–42

sex ratio and, 59

within/between, 26–28, 32, 38–39, 42, 48–49, 59, 73, 111

groups

advantages in, 39–41

altruism in, 22–23, 27, 29, 141

benefit to, 137

efficacious, 137

fitness in, 20–21, 32, 38, 40, 66, 71–72

functional organization in, 9–11, 13, 16, 17, 27, 143, 147

harm to, 137

human social, 142

identity of, 12, 65

morality in, 31

natural selection in, 21, 34

organisms and, 28, 49

selfish behavior in, 22–23, 27, 144

variations and, 22, 27, 39

guilt, 135

Haidt, Jonathan, 70–71

Hardin, Garrett, 11, 25

Hayek, Friedrich von, 95, 100–102

hedonists, 99, 155n10

heritable variation, 62

hierarchy. See multitier hierarchy

high functioning groups, 73–74

high-cost behaviors, 80

high-frequency trading, 109–10, 111–12

High-PRO. See PROSOCIAL scores historical process, 57, 63

Homo economicus, 97–101, 103, 105, 107, 113, 130

human nature, 111

human social groups, 142

human traits, 52

humans. See also Homo economicus; society

culture of, 56, 72–73

distinctive properties of, 47

evolution and, 47, 49–50

nonhumans and, 72–73

preferences and abilities of, 99

hunter-gatherer societies, 76

Hutchins, Edwin, 10–11

Hutterites, 76, 80–81, 84, 86, 102

hypothesis, 35, 37

identity, of group, 12, 65

immorality. See morality impulse, 7, 138

inclusive fitness theory, 32, 43–45, 121, 152n4, 153n10

individual difference, 137–38

individuals

behavior of, 50–51

economic systems and, 100–101

fitness and, 23, 40

morality in, 31, 113

social environment of, 120–21

information, loss of, 40–42

inheritance, 53–54, 56–57, 144, 145

insects. See water striders instinct, 90

intelligence, 52–53, 100–101

intention, 104–5, 108, 128

intentional change, 128

internal assets, 117

investors, 109, 111

invisible-hand metaphor, 96–97, 105–7, 108, 113, 114

John Templeton Foundation, 4–5, 75, 82–83

Judaism, 83

Kerr, Benjamin, 25–26

kin selection. See inclusive fitness theory

lactose. See milk

Laissez-faire, 101, 139

Lamarck, Jean-Baptiste, 54

languages, 36–37

law, 139

Lewis, Michael, 109–12

Lieberman, Jerry, 94

long-term sustainability, 66–67

low-cost altruism, 80–81

low-cost behaviors, 80

lower-level selection, 50

Low-PRO. See PROSOCIAL scores

Machiavellianism, 137–38

management, effective, 11–13, 147

Mandeville, Bernard, 96, 106, 114

Margulis, Lynn, 27–28

market forces, 8, 95

market process, 113

mathematical techniques, 98–99

Mayr, Ernst, 63, 69

metabolic process, 144

metaphors, 96–97, 105–7, 108, 113, 114

methodological individualism, 51

The Methodology of Positive Economics (Friedman), 100

milk, 64–65, 68

Miller, William, 87

Millerism, 87, 102

money, 122

monitoring, 12, 65

monkeys, rhesus, 15

Mont Pelerin Society, 100

moral choice, 112

moralistic punishment, 110

morality, 109–10, 142–43

biological ecosystems and, 111

in groups, 31

human nature and, 111

in individuals, 31

in natural selection, 31–32

of self-interest, 113

success and, 31–32

Mormonism, 13, 88

motives, 3

action and, 141–42

altruism and, 69, 141–42

belief and, 87–88, 89

financial, 130

psychological, 104

self-interest as, 6

by worldviews, 104

multigroup population structure, 39

multilevel cultural evolution, 144–45

multilevel selection theory, 43–45, 47, 104, 137, 139, 149

functional organization and, 71–72

relative fitness and, 71–72

multitier hierarchy, 137, 138

National Science Foundation’s National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent), 94

nation-level selfishness, 138–39

natural selection, 4, 9, 14–15, 144. See also relative fitness

evolution and, 21–22

evolutionary theory and, 71–72

fitness and, 19, 22, 71–72

functional design and, 62–63

functional organization and, 21–22

groups and, 21, 34

milk and, 64

morality in, 31–32

organisms and, 106

scales of, 155n9

variation and, 22

navigation, 10

NESCent. See National Science Foundation’s National Evolutionary Synthesis Center

Neusner, Jacob, 4, 82, 84

No Longer at Ease (Achebe), 138–39

Nobel Prize, 11, 65

nonhuman societies, 105

altruism and, 72–73

cooperation in, 49, 153n3

functional organization in, 13–14, 16

Nudge (Sunstein & Thaler), 99

Oakley, Barbara, 133, 135–37

obsessive-compulsive disorder, 135

opportunism, 33

organism, 13, 16, 48

functional organization and, 28

genes and cells of, 105–6

group and, 28, 49

human society as, 28–29, 50, 72–73, 76, 105–6, 143, 144, 148

multicellular, 105–6

natural selection and, 106

responses of, 106

selection between, 43

Ostrom, Elinor, 11–13, 65, 68, 70, 124–26, 147–48

paradigms, 35–36, 37, 44, 51, 72

pathological altruism, 133, 135–36

perspectives, 36–37, 88, 101, 148, 157n7

phage, 25–27, 39

phenotypes, 53, 56–57

phenotypic plasticity, 157n5

philosophies, 59–60, 83–84

planning, 114

polycentric governance, 13, 147–48

population, 38–39, 40, 44

positive reinforcement, 138

post traumatic stress disorder, 135

pragmatic attitude, 129–30

predator, 112, 136

predatory behavior, 111, 112

predictions, 62, 112

preferences, 99, 107

prey, 112

primates, 49, 153n3

proportion, 20–21, 65

proportional equivalence, 65

PROSOCIAL scores, 118–19, 121, 134

High-PRO, 117, 120, 129, 130–31, 135

Low-PRO, 117, 129, 130, 135

prosociality, 141

altruism and, 129–30

changes in, 124

evolutionary perspective, 157n7

financial capital and, 122

individual difference and, 137–38

map of, 118–20

money and, 122

need for, 128–29

quality of life and, 129

response to, 123

social capital and, 122

social environment and, 124, 130–31

society and, 129

studies on, 121–22

protection, 70

Protestant. See Seventh-Day Adventism

proximate causation, 61–63, 68–69, 73, 86, 145, 148–49

proximate mechanism, 68–71, 73–74, 86, 113–14, 142

psychological altruism, 60, 151n3

psychological egoism, 60

psychological mechanism, 61, 65, 68–70

psychological universals, 145

punishment, 110

pure altruist, 7–8

quality of life, 129

Rand, Ayn, 96, 101–4, 113, 129

Randian fundamentalism. See fundamentalism

Rand’s System of Thought, 103–4

rare events, 48

rational choice theory, 19

reasoning, 20

reciprocators, 130

Regents Academy, 124–27

regulatory mechanisms, 144, 146–47

rejection, 41–42

relatedness, 43–44

relationships, 53, 135–36

relative fitness, 26, 66

advantage and, 41–42

altruism and, 29

behavior and, 80

group and, 20–21, 32, 40, 71–72

individuals and, 40

loss of information in, 42

multilevel selection theory and, 71–72

natural selection and, 19, 22, 71–72

relative reasoning, 20

religion, 4, 142–43. See also specific type

academic study of, 85

adaptations and, 80

altruism and, 79–80, 82, 83–84, 89, 91

behavior and, 80

books on, 77–78, 80

challenges in explaining, 77

evolution and, 77–80

forgiveness and, 75–76

functional similarities of, 86

genetic and cultural evolution and, 79

scholars on, 77–78

science and, 77–78

thought and, 4, 85

violent conflicts and, 156n17

worldviews and, 86–87

religion of humanity, 89–90, 91

reproductive strategies, 134

resource management, 11

revenge, 112

rights, 12, 66

sanctions, 12, 65

scholars, 77–78

science, 90, 143

controversies in, 5

forgiveness and, 75–76

religion and, 77–78

truth from, 35

Seeley, Tom, 14

selection. See also group-level selection

colony-level, 106

disruptive forms of, 48–49, 50

functional organization and, 28–29, 48

gene level, 43

society-level, 106, 107, 113

among trait groups, 152n5

variation and, 55–56

selective advantage, 41

self-interest, 6, 97, 100, 102, 146

in economics, 104–5

enlightened, 133

individual, 113

market forces and, 8, 95

morality of, 113

motivated by, 6

2008 financial crisis, 104–5

unrestrained, 107

selfish behavior, 81, 97, 102, 133, 142–43, 145

action based, 22

altruism and, 22–27, 32, 34–35, 38, 45, 61, 71–72

in groups, 22–23, 27, 144

nation-level, 138–39

prosociality and, 129–30

psychological mechanism and, 61, 65

selfish gene theory, 32–33, 43, 45

selfish systems, 91

self-organization, 101, 108–9, 146–47

Seventh-Day Adventism, 87–88, 102

sex ratio, 59

sin, 142

Smith, Adam, 95–97, 107–8, 114

Sober, Elliott, 42, 59–61

social behavior, 37, 72, 121

social capital, 122, 157n7

social Darwinism, 148

social environment, 125, 127

altruism in, 116

changes in, 124

harsh, 134

of individuals, 120–21

prosociality and, 124, 130–31

social interaction, 10–11, 120

social organization, 10

social process, 14–15

social strategies, 118, 130

social support, 120–21

social systems, 108–9

society. See also nonhuman societies

adaptation and, 56

benefit to, 104

as collective unit, 105

functional organization in, 16, 51–52

greed and, 96, 97

mechanisms and, 113

as organism, concept of, 28–29, 50, 72–73, 76, 105–6, 143, 144, 148

prosociality and, 129

selection and, 106, 107, 113

welfare and, 95, 105, 113–14

society-level selection, 106, 107, 113

sociopaths, 117

solid-citizen mode, 66–67

spatial distribution, 134

spontaneous mechanisms, 113–14

spousal abuse, 136

stock market, 112

stock trading. See high-frequency trading

structure, 114

struggle, for existence, 67

Sunstein, Cass, 99

superorganism, 9–10, 15, 48, 76

survival, 9

survival strategies, 134

sustainability, 66–67

symbolic relations, 53

symbolic thought, 53–54, 56, 73, 144, 154n15

tadpoles, 15–16

takers, 130

Templeton, John, 75, 83

Thaler, Richard, 99

theory. See hypothesis

thought, 65

action and, 8–9, 16, 61

altruism and, 8, 16–17, 60–62, 71, 73, 82, 91, 112, 143, 149

configurations of, 35, 37

habit of, 7

religion and, 4, 85

symbolic, 53–54, 56, 73, 144, 154n15

Tinbergen, Niko, 63, 69

tradition, 86, 102

traditional virtues, 102

The Tragedy of the Commons (Hardin), 11

trait, 52, 78, 154n23

trait group, 152n5

trial-by-error, 100

Triple P, 127–28

truth, 35

ultimate causation, 61–63, 68–69, 73, 86, 148–49

utopia, 8

value, 113

variance, 40–41

variation

free movement and, 25

in groups, 22, 27, 39

heritable, 62

natural selection and, 22

variation-and-selection process, 55–56

Veblen, Thorstein, 99

veil of ignorance, 155n11

victim, 136

viruses, 25–27

Wall Street, 109–12

Walras, Leon, 97–99

water striders, 23–27, 29, 39, 44, 121

wealth, 19–20

welfare, 3, 73–74, 95, 105, 113–14, 143

William, George, 59

worldviews

adaptive, 86–87

harm and, 105

of Hutterites, 102

motivated by, 104

purpose and, 86–87

of Rand, 102–4

religious, 86–87

Wright, Jonathan, 97

zealots, 103–4