Two key steps in the evolution of human cooperation: the interdependence hypothesis
Modern theories of the evolution of human cooperation focus mainly on altruism. In contrast, we propose that humans’ species-unique forms of cooperation—as well as their species-unique forms of cognition, communication, and social life—all derive from mutualistic collaboration (with social selection...
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| Format: | Article |
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University of Chicago Press
2012
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31365/ |
| _version_ | 1848794185097805824 |
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| author | Tomasello, Michael Melis, Alicia P. Tennie, Claudio Wyman, Emily Herrmann, Esther |
| author_facet | Tomasello, Michael Melis, Alicia P. Tennie, Claudio Wyman, Emily Herrmann, Esther |
| author_sort | Tomasello, Michael |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Modern theories of the evolution of human cooperation focus mainly on altruism. In contrast, we propose that humans’ species-unique forms of cooperation—as well as their species-unique forms of cognition, communication, and social life—all derive from mutualistic collaboration (with social selection against cheaters). In a first step, humans became obligate collaborative foragers such that individuals were interdependent with one another and so had a direct interest in the well-being of their partners. In this context, they evolved new skills and motivations for collaboration not possessed by other great apes (joint intentionality), and they helped their potential partners (and avoided cheaters). In a second step, these new collaborative skills and motivations were scaled up to group life in general, as modern humans faced competition from other groups. As part of this new group-mindedness, they created cultural conventions, norms, and institutions (all characterized by collective intentionality), with knowledge of a specific set of these marking individuals as members of a particular cultural group. Human cognition and sociality thus became ever more collaborative and altruistic as human individuals became ever more interdependent. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:12:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-31365 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:12:10Z |
| publishDate | 2012 |
| publisher | University of Chicago Press |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-313652020-05-04T20:21:06Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31365/ Two key steps in the evolution of human cooperation: the interdependence hypothesis Tomasello, Michael Melis, Alicia P. Tennie, Claudio Wyman, Emily Herrmann, Esther Modern theories of the evolution of human cooperation focus mainly on altruism. In contrast, we propose that humans’ species-unique forms of cooperation—as well as their species-unique forms of cognition, communication, and social life—all derive from mutualistic collaboration (with social selection against cheaters). In a first step, humans became obligate collaborative foragers such that individuals were interdependent with one another and so had a direct interest in the well-being of their partners. In this context, they evolved new skills and motivations for collaboration not possessed by other great apes (joint intentionality), and they helped their potential partners (and avoided cheaters). In a second step, these new collaborative skills and motivations were scaled up to group life in general, as modern humans faced competition from other groups. As part of this new group-mindedness, they created cultural conventions, norms, and institutions (all characterized by collective intentionality), with knowledge of a specific set of these marking individuals as members of a particular cultural group. Human cognition and sociality thus became ever more collaborative and altruistic as human individuals became ever more interdependent. University of Chicago Press 2012-12 Article PeerReviewed Tomasello, Michael, Melis, Alicia P., Tennie, Claudio, Wyman, Emily and Herrmann, Esther (2012) Two key steps in the evolution of human cooperation: the interdependence hypothesis. Current Anthropology, 53 (6). pp. 673-692. ISSN 1537-5382 http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/citedby/10.1086/668207 doi:10.1086/668207 doi:10.1086/668207 |
| spellingShingle | Tomasello, Michael Melis, Alicia P. Tennie, Claudio Wyman, Emily Herrmann, Esther Two key steps in the evolution of human cooperation: the interdependence hypothesis |
| title | Two key steps in the evolution of human cooperation: the interdependence hypothesis |
| title_full | Two key steps in the evolution of human cooperation: the interdependence hypothesis |
| title_fullStr | Two key steps in the evolution of human cooperation: the interdependence hypothesis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Two key steps in the evolution of human cooperation: the interdependence hypothesis |
| title_short | Two key steps in the evolution of human cooperation: the interdependence hypothesis |
| title_sort | two key steps in the evolution of human cooperation: the interdependence hypothesis |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31365/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31365/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31365/ |