The price of altruism : George Price and the search for the origins of kindness

"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. Front Cover......Page 1 Title Page......Page 3 Copyright......Page 4 Dedication......Page 5 Contents......Page 6 Prologue......Page 9 Part One......Page 14 1. War or Peace?......Page 16 2. New York......Page 39 3. Selections......Page 55 4. Roaming......Page 75 5. Friendly Starfish, Selfish Games......Page 93 6. Hustling......Page 115 7. Solutions......Page 126 8. No Easy Way......Page 144 Part Two......Page 155 9. London......Page 157 10. “Coincidence” Conversion......Page 181 11. “Love” Conversion......Page 203 12. Reckonings......Page 222 13. Altruism......Page 242 14. Last Days......Page 258 Epilogue......Page 269 Appendix 1: Covariance and Kin Selection1......Page 282 Appendix 2: The Full Price Equation and Levels of Selection1......Page 283 Appendix 3: Covariance and the Fundamental Theorem......Page 285 Acknowledgments......Page 286 CHAPTER 1: WAR OR PEACE?......Page 292 CHAPTER 2: NEW YORK......Page 298 CHAPTER 3: SELECTIONS......Page 302 CHAPTER 4: ROAMING......Page 307 CHAPTER 5: FRIENDLY STARFISH, SELFISH GAMES......Page 311 CHAPTER 6: HUSTLING......Page 316 CHAPTER 7: SOLUTIONS......Page 318 CHAPTER 8: NO EASY WAY......Page 322 CHAPTER 9: LONDON......Page 324 CHAPTER 10: “COINCIDENCE” CONVERSION......Page 328 CHAPTER 11: “LOVE” CONVERSION......Page 332 CHAPTER 12: RECKONINGS......Page 337 CHAPTER 13: ALTRUISM......Page 340 CHAPTER 14: LAST DAYS......Page 348 EPILOGUE......Page 349 APPENDIX 2: THE FULL PRICE EQUATION AND LEVELS OF SELECTION......Page 351 Describes the intellectual journey of eccentric American genius George Price, who tried to answer the evolutionary riddle of why people are nice, and eventually gave away all his belongings and took his own life in a squatter's flat