Publishers Weekly
06/14/2021
Raihani, a professor of evolution and behavior at University College London, debuts with an upbeat take on why humans help each other. To prove cooperation is “the reason we exist in the first place,” Raihani explores such matters as why women tend to invest more time in parenting (“it is often easier for the female to be sure she is the mother”), how mothers-in-law earned a bad reputation (in pre-industrial homes, they often regarded new members as competition for “limited resources”), and whether money really can buy happiness or whether happiness comes from “knowing we have more than people like us.” She employs social, economic, and biological theories to argue that living organisms have evolved through teamwork, and she discusses downsides of humans’ social instinct—it can lead to conspiracy theories and confirmation bias. Colorful examples—such as how honeybees work to cool hives during the summer and how male burying beetles take on more parental responsibilities because of an “anti-aphrodisiac” secreted by the female—bring things to life. This enriching survey should have broad appeal. Agent: Will Francis, Janklow & Nesbit Associates. (Aug.)
From the Publisher
In her energetic analysis, psychologist Nichola Raihani recontextualizes cooperation within the framework of evolution and reveals the competition for survival that still bubbles below its surface. … [She] illuminates how cooperation has shaped such disparate phenomena as cancer, monogamy, menopause, hatred toward vegans, and people leaving dirty dishes in the office sink…. [She] offers insight into how our hardwired drive to cooperate could help us meet the challenges rushing at us.”—Amy Brady, Scientific American
“Raihani's rewarding analysis ranges from genetics to politics, and from the individual to the international, including the COVID-19 pandemic.”—Nature
“Raihani employs social, economic, and biological theories to argue that living organisms have evolved through teamwork, and she discusses downsides of humans’ social instinct—it can lead to conspiracy theories and confirmation bias. Colorful examples…bring things to life. This enriching survey should have broad appeal.” —Publishers Weekly
“In this captivating book, Raihani provides a compelling argument that cooperation is the secret of human success and yet has never been as crucial as it is now, during a global pandemic and with the threat of the climate crisis. I found this intriguing and beautifully written book hard to put down.” —Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, author of Inventing Ourselves: The Secret Life of the Teenage Brain
“The Social Instinct is surprising, thoughtful and, best of all, endlessly entertaining, examining the puzzle and power of co-operation from the decks of the HMS Bounty to the babbling birds of the Kalahari. Absolutely loved it.” —Will Storr, author of The Science of Storytelling
"A phenomenally important book. The story of why we humans evolved to become such a wonderfully cooperative, social species, and what that means for the world today. Raihani will change the way you think about ourselves.” —Lewis Dartnell, author of Origins: How the Earth Shaped Human History
“Cooperation is at the heart of our bodies, our societies and our ecosystem. Raihani's stunning book flips the selfish gene on its head, showing us not only how to better understand the world, but also how to change it.” —Matthew Cobb, author of The Idea of the Brain
“This is a glorious book, with an insight on every page. Above all it taught me that while our individual bodies and brains might reward comparison with our primate relatives, in understanding our social relations we would be much better off comparing the meerkat. And the naked mole-rat. And the bower bird. And the cleaner-fish.” —Rory Sutherland, author of Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas that Don’t Make Sense
“A fascinating exploration of the ties that bind us from our smallest cell to our grandest society. Raihani reveals the deep evolutionary roots of cooperation, drawing on her own extensive scholarship in an entertaining and insightful new look at the risks and rewards of collaborating.” —Gaia Vince, author of Transcendence: How Humans Evolved Through Fire, Language, Beauty, and Time
