Tomasello, M. (2009). Why We Cooperate. MIT Press.

Abstract

The study of human cooperation has been a central topic in diverse disciplines, from anthropology to evolutionary psychology and neuroscience. In Why We Cooperate (2009), Michael Tomasello invites us to reflect on what makes us unique as a species, examining the origins and mechanisms of human cooperation. His theoretical proposal challenges the notion that cooperation is solely a product of socialization. It is based on experimental studies with young children and chimpanzees, which suggest that human cooperation is the result of a combination of both innate altruistic tendencies and cultural socialization processes. This bibliographic review analyzes the main contributions of the book, its theoretical and methodological framework, its relevance to the study of social interaction and human cognition, and some criticisms that have arisen around its approaches.