The Price of Altruism – George Price and the Search for the Origins of Kindness - Hardcover

Harman, Oren

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0393067785 ISBN 13: 9780393067781

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2010

Synopsis

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.

About this title

Review:

Brilliant... A great story.--Brian Appleyard

Remarkable... fascinating.

Ever since Charles Darwin had published his theory of evolution in 1859, scientists had wondered whether it can explain the existence of altruism. Price wanted to describe mathematically how a genetic disposition to altruism could evolve. As Mr. Harman so vividly describes, Price ultimately became one of the vagabonds he set out to save.

Fascinating.... Important... full of complex and deeply interesting ideas.--Sam Leith

An intriguing history for serious students of the history of science.

[A] rich and vigorous survey of the controversy over altruism and its evolutionary role, stretching from the 19th century to now.

I stayed up a good part of the night reading... fascinating! ... Harman proves that the lives of some modern scientists are as ecstatic, tormented and filled with strange visions as those of medieval saints.--Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind

This book is a stunning tour de force. The puzzle of altruism is revealed as it would be in a thriller, with twists and turns and surprises almost until the end.--Noah Feldman, Bemis Professor of Law, Harvard University

Uncommonly brilliant and deeply stimulating... almost cinematically satisfying. Harman has a rare gift for bringing ideas and thinkers to life.--Leon Wieseltier, literary editor of The New Republic

A terrific book, at once scholarly and impossible to put down.--Peter Godfrey-Smith, professor of philosophy at Harvard University

Book Description:

The completely compelling biography of a remarkable man, and his search for the origins of kindness.

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0393067785
• ISBN 13: 9780393067781
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 464