Product Description

In a world supposedly governed by ruthless survival of the fittest, why do we see acts of goodness in both animals and humans? This problem plagued Charles Darwin in the 1850s as he developed his theory of evolution through natural selection. Indeed, Darwin worried that the goodness he observed in nature could be the Achilles heel of his theory. Ever since then, scientists and other thinkers have engaged in a fierce debate about the origins of goodness that has dragged politics, philosophy, and religion into what remains a major question for evolutionary biology.

The Altruism Equation traces the history of this debate from Darwin to the present through an extraordinary cast of characters-from the Russian prince Petr Kropotkin, who wanted to base society on altruism, to the brilliant biologist George Price, who fell into poverty and succumbed to suicide as he obsessed over the problem. In a final surprising turn, William Hamilton, the scientist who came up with the equation that reduced altruism to the cold language of natural selection, desperately hoped that his theory did not apply to humans.

Hamilton's Rule, which states that relatives are worth helping in direct proportion to their blood relatedness, is as fundamental to evolutionary biology as Newton's laws of motion are to physics. But even today, decades after its formulation, Hamilton's Rule is still hotly debated among those who cannot accept that goodness can be explained by a simple mathematical formula. For the first time, Lee Alan Dugatkin brings to life the people, the issues, and the passions that have surrounded the altruism debate. Readers will be swept along by this fast-paced tale of history, biography, and scientific discovery.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #508780 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

From Publishers Weekly
If evolution involves a competition for survival, then how can we explain altruism? Biologist Dugatkin (Cheating Monkeys and Citizen Bees: The Nature of Cooperation in Animals and Humans) splendidly narrates a fast-paced tale of scientific breakthrough, genius and intellectual history as he examines the lives of seven scientists—from T.H. Huxley through Richard Dawkins and E.O. Wilson—whose groundbreaking work attempts to answer this question. Darwin's "bulldog," T.H. Huxley, believed altruism was rare, and that blood kinship provided the key to an evolutionary understanding of altruism. The Russian anarchist Prince Pyotr Kropotkin, on the other hand, believed altruism was widespread and unrelated to kinship. But the idea of the kinship link won out, and in the 1960s, William Hamilton developed a cost-benefit analysis to explain the genetic basis of altruism: "If a gene for altruism is to evolve, then the cost of altruism must somehow be balanced by compensating benefits to the altruist." Stephen Emlen of Cornell has found remarkable evidence of Hamilton's Rule in his studies of bee eaters in Kenya. The impact of Hamilton's Rule "on evolutionary biology has been as great as the impact of Newton's laws of motion on physics," says Dugatkin. This superb tale of scientific discovery is required reading for everyone interested in the nature of human morality. (Oct.)
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Review
"Lee Dugatkin gives biographical sketches of seven major historical figures who took an interest in the importance of blood kinship." -- David Sloan Wilson, American Scientist

Review
If evolution involves a competition for survival, then how can we explain altruism? Biologist Lee Dugatkin splendidly narrates a fast-paced tale of scientific breakthrough, genius and intellectual history as he examines the lives of seven scientists . . . whose groundbreaking work attempts to answer this question. . . . This superb tale of scientific discovery is required reading for everyone interested in the nature of human morality.
(Publishers Weekly )

Exhilerating. . . . [This] is an engaging book with devoted enthusiasm for the ideas of the main protagonist, William Hamilton. . . . Dugatkin's . . . account offers much to think about.
(Caroline Ash Science )

Dugatkin's biographical sketches . . . are entertaining and insightful. . . . [T]here is little doubt that efforts to explain altruism and morality in formal scientific terms are heavily influenced by the cultures and personal histories of their proponents.
(David Sloan Wilson American Scientist )

Dugatkin tells the story . . . with clear prose and poise. In doing so he celebrates the internal consistencies of science and the beauty of clear thinking. Written for a general audience, this book provides vignettes featuring the lives of key thinkers, which foster an understanding of how the social context of the times influences the advance of scientific understanding.
(Choice )

The Altruism Equation is very well written and extremely informative. Dugatkin's immense enthusiasm shines through every page. . . . Because the scientific concepts are explained so clearly, concisely and engagingly, newcomers to sociobiology will find The Altruism Equation an enlightening read. At the same time, it will be of interest to connoisseurs of the literature who wish to gain a panoramic view of the altruism debate. . . . The Altruism Equation is a splendid book.
(David Livingstone Smith Evolutionary Psychology )

This is a tale not only about the majesty of science, but also about the hubris of scientism. One of the greatest projects of modernity is to explain to the public where science does and does not matter, and altruism is a valuable example.
(Oren Harman The New Republic )

The Altruism Equation is a pleasure to read. Dugatkin's explanation of the relevant science is clear and comprehensible. He also blends the scientific views of these seven scientists with their personal and professional lives in a way that enhances our understanding of both.
(David L. Hull Isis )

This book could he an especially interesting read for recent generations, who may see themselves as standing on the shoulders of their intellectual predecessors. . . . The material is carefully researched and written, and problematic issues are few.
(Daniel J. Kruger Quarterly Review of Biology )

The Altruism Equation is very good popular scientific history. It provides the non-scientist with a digestible overview of a lengthy and sometimes complex development, and offers ample leads to pursue. Most importantly, it brings science to life by showing the personalities of scientists involved as well as the background beliefs which motivated their pursuits. For those interested in jumping into this area of inquiry, there is probably no better book with which to start.
(Marc Baer. PhD Metapsychology Online Reviews )

Customer Reviews

A History of Altruism Glowing with the Author's Enthusiasm
The altruism equation relates to a very simple equation explaining altruism among kin in terms of costs, benefits, and the degree of relatedness. The equation does not have the generality of Newton's Third Law or Einstein's mass-energy equation, but it may well be the most important quantitative relationship in biology.

But, this book is more about people than about equations. It consists of a beautiful set of cameos of some the the greatest biologists who have worked on the issue of altruism, including Darwin, Huxley, Kropotkin, Hamilton, Dawkins, and Price. It is an easy read and very elegant and exciting. There is some mention of results beyond 1970, but they are very, very sparse. Perhaps an historical narrative is warranted only when all the principals are dead. At any rate, for a discussion of the modern theory human altruism, together with spandrels, sociobiology, a scientific approach to morality and the social emotions, you will have to look elsewhere.

How Altruism Made Sense
A beautiful gem. Short, passionate, lucid, and entertaining.
This book does more than explain the history of proposed solutions to an important question. It details the personalities behind this history. One gains insights into the character of luminaries such as Huxley, Kropotkin, Price, and many others.

What was the question, or puzzle?

How could natural selection produce altruism in nature? It just does not seem to make sense. Intelligent Design loons are always saying as much.

Fortunately, the answer has been known since 1964. The key is in William Hamilton's 'simple' equation RxB-C>O.
Dugatkin admirably discusses the history behind the equation and speculates as to why earlier theorists like Fisher, Haldane, or Wright did not think of it.

For readers who love books like The Selfish Gene, Good Natured, or Moral Minds, this book makes a nice compliment. For those who hate math (myself!!) and want a gentle introduction to Hamilton's rule, it is essential.

If I may make one last point, I have to express some concern with the excessive obsession with quantification in some quarters. I really have not seen a difficult quantitative theory of human behavior that allowed any insights that could not be expressed in clear english. I might be wrong here, but I think the obsession with mathematical jargon keeps theorists from testing (or taking seriously) verbal arguments. Zahavi's handicap principle is a great case in point. Nobody really put that much stock into it until Grafen mathematized the theory. Unfortunately, nobody, save a few, could understand his formulas. Well, it turns out that Grafen's math may not be the best way to look at the problem (see Thomas Getty). So I think it wise that Dugatkin sticks to verbal exposition, and I encourage fledglings to think through their ideas with clear verbal logic before using esoteric math. If Dugatkin's book showed me anything, it was that complex phenomena often have simple explanations. No need to make things more difficult than they need to be. (yes, I know it makes you look smart and cool to use differential equations and bayesian statistics, but cool does not mean correct.)

An enlightening read
I enjoyed this delightfully written book of "science history". "The Altruism Equation" tells the story of the seven scientists - from Darwin, Huxley and Kropotkin up through WD Hamilton - and their quest to understand the evolution of altruism. In addition to being very well-written, this book demonstrates the power of natural selection to shape the world we live in. It should help quiet the ID crowd (although it is hard to quiet people that aren't listening to anything that they don't want to hear).