Survival of the Friendliest

May 15, 2020
A fresh look at evolution in the animal kingdom--including us. According to Duke evolutionary anthropology professors Hare and Woods, a husband-and-wife writing team who co-authored The Genius of Dogs (2013), the concept of survival of the fittest really refers to the survival of the friendliest. In the animal kingdom, alpha males are not necessarily the fittest because they have no peers, thus they can become lonely and develop psychological problems--and the same goes for humans. Regarding the history of animals, the authors emphasize that cooperation advances a species. They devote many interesting pages to comparing adult chimpanzees, which are distinctively unfriendly and sometimes violent to humans and even to other chimps outside their own group, and their lookalike species bonobos, which are among the friendliest animals in the animal kingdom, even toward other bonobos they do not know. The authors also discuss how offering friendship to humans is how wolves and jungle cats became domesticated dogs and cats. Today, dogs and cats outnumber wolves and jungle cats by astounding numbers, and they have evolved in amazing ways as well. It's human evolution, however, that comprises the bulk of the narrative. The authors engagingly show how, unlike dogs and cats, we domesticated ourselves; learning to cooperate with one another, especially groups with other groups, made us what we are today. The authors also note that evolution continues, and the next major change could come quickly via any animal that can overcome its fear of humans and express friendliness to us. Hare and Woods fill the text with reports of experiments that bolster their case, and although some of the scientific explanations might be a little much for general readers, they're necessary to prove their gee-whiz results. A book for anyone who wants to know more about themselves.

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June 1, 2020
A global pandemic. Climate change. Poverty and famine. The list of existential threats is ever-expanding. Yet perhaps the solutions start with the obvious: "Cooperation is the key to our survival as a species," evolutionary anthropologist Hare and science writer Woods conclude. In their optimistic opinion, "friendliness" (cooperation, positive behavior, compassion) enhances our evolutionary fitness. Charles Darwin took note of the cooperation and benevolence present in other species. Exploring the behavior of humans and animals (dogs, foxes, bonobos), the authors advance a "self-domestication hypothesis" in which our success as a species results more from an ability to get along with one another than just becoming brainier. The hormone oxytocin, neurotransmitter serotonin, temperament, tolerance, theory of mind, and social psychology are featured in the discussion. Interestingly, hyperfriendliness is often associated with Williams syndrome, a rare genetic condition. The authors bluntly acknowledge the human paradox that, "We are both the most tolerant and the most merciless species on the planet." Friendliness may not be an antidote to all of humankind's problems, but it sure would be a good place to begin.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)