The Evolution of Cooperation
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- Create Date：2021-04-06 11:57:40
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Robert Axelrod
- ISBN：0465005640
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Summary
The Evolution of Cooperation provides valuable insights into the age-old question of whether unforced cooperation is ever possible。 Widely praised and much-discussed， this classic book explores how cooperation can emerge in a world of self-seeking egoists—whether superpowers， businesses， or individuals—when there is no central authority to police their actions。 The problem of cooperation is central to many different fields。 Robert Axelrod recounts the famous computer tournaments in which the “cooperative” program Tit for Tat recorded its stunning victories， explains its application to a broad spectrum of subjects， and suggests how readers can both apply cooperative principles to their own lives and teach cooperative principles to others。
Reviews
Benjamin Philippe
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It's a research paper， painful read but not uninteresting It's a research paper， painful read but not uninteresting 。。。more
Emily Morgan
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Published in 1984， you think this book would now be irrelevant or inaccurate。 Although as you read it you see everything around you come to play in every day life。 The book slowly leans toward focuses on the evolution of human phenomenas in social studies。 I enjoyed this book a lot and would definitely recommend。 I read this book as a school assignment where we had to read a book colleges recommend， and I can definitely see the book helping shape your perspective in life to a point where college Published in 1984， you think this book would now be irrelevant or inaccurate。 Although as you read it you see everything around you come to play in every day life。 The book slowly leans toward focuses on the evolution of human phenomenas in social studies。 I enjoyed this book a lot and would definitely recommend。 I read this book as a school assignment where we had to read a book colleges recommend， and I can definitely see the book helping shape your perspective in life to a point where colleges would encourage you to read it。 。。。more
James
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One of the best books I've ever read。 I can't recommend it more。 One of the best books I've ever read。 I can't recommend it more。 。。。more
Nick
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First read of 2021 was a good， quick one。 The Evolution of Cooperation is a research-based approach to winning the prisoner's dilemma with some applications to real-world scenarios。 This book was written in the early 80s and used computer programs to determine winning scenarios， so the results may be different now。Tit for tat was determined to be the best strategy， with a few caveats。 Tit for tat's robustness is due to being nice， provokable， forgiving， and clear。 Niceness means it starts with c First read of 2021 was a good， quick one。 The Evolution of Cooperation is a research-based approach to winning the prisoner's dilemma with some applications to real-world scenarios。 This book was written in the early 80s and used computer programs to determine winning scenarios， so the results may be different now。Tit for tat was determined to be the best strategy， with a few caveats。 Tit for tat's robustness is due to being nice， provokable， forgiving， and clear。 Niceness means it starts with cooperation and isn’t the first to defect， which prevents it from entering an endless cycle of mutual punishment。 Its retaliation discourages the other side from persisting in punishment。 Reciprocate both cooperation and defection。 Its forgiveness helps restore mutual cooperation。 After one punishment let bygones be bygones。 Do not be envious of other participants' success。 Its clarity makes it easy to recognize and cooperate with。 Do not be too clever - this simple strategy won against all variations。The author suggests ways to apply the tit for tat strategy， including "enlarging the shadow of future" by making the first instance of cooperation symbolic （e。g。 wedding ceremony） and make subsequent acts of cooperation frequent to build lasting trust。The primary vulnerability in tit for tat is the first move。 If you are first to act then you should start with cooperation， which is a risk given you don't know whether the other participant will reciprocate。 So it begs the question: How to suss out a defector？ If the environment is uncooperative or if you’re unsure and unlikely to interact with the participants again， then always defect could be the best strategy。The book provides a wartime illustration to highlight the important role of reciprocity in cooperation--"live and let live"。 In trench warfare during WWI units stayed in the same place and had repeat interactions， which created an opportunity for cooperation。 For example， they often took breaks on both sides to eat at same time。 Ensure the long term value of cooperating is greater than short term incentive for defecting。 This can be done with carrots and sticks。 A carrot would be to be generous with cooperation （extend the peace a little more each time）; a stick would be to exact extreme punishment （e。g。 returning each shot with two）。 Developing a reputation is important so that participants know how you will likely react。 Tit for tat is Darwinian as whatever is successful is more likely to appear more often in the future。 。。。more
Mtabacman
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The idea is good。 The content start to repeat itself after the first half。Some chapters are re-edition of published papers and it shows that they do not take themselves into account as part of sequential chapters in a book。Still， the book contains ideas on how to prepare social and political environments for the best outcome for all involved， and that alone makes it a must read。
Ryan
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This should have been a blog post instead of a book。
Attila
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Review:This book was incredibly boring again。 Quarter of the book was a single example。 At least it was short。Main points:（view spoiler）[nations often seek their own security through means which challenge the security of othershow humans cooperate without central authorityenemy soldiers didn’t kill each other with the live-and-let-live system in trench warfare， they cooperated without messagingit ended with ordered random raidsyou can promote cooperation by -tmaking interactions more long term o Review:This book was incredibly boring again。 Quarter of the book was a single example。 At least it was short。Main points:（view spoiler）[nations often seek their own security through means which challenge the security of othershow humans cooperate without central authorityenemy soldiers didn’t kill each other with the live-and-let-live system in trench warfare， they cooperated without messagingit ended with ordered random raidsyou can promote cooperation by -tmaking interactions more long term or frequent-tpromote empathy between individuals-tmake defection come with a huge punishment-tgive what you get（hide spoiler）] 。。。more
Mario Vanhoucke
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You have books that you enjoy while reading， you learn some new things， and then mostly you forget。 You have other books where you suffer， read again and again， and only afterwards you realise how important the book was。 I've read parts of this book 20 years ago， and I did not particularly like them， but I never forgot。 Now I have read the book again。 Wow！ Wow！ It certainly is not an easy book， but I'm now convinced that in 1984 （year of publication） it was - and I think it still is - an importa You have books that you enjoy while reading， you learn some new things， and then mostly you forget。 You have other books where you suffer， read again and again， and only afterwards you realise how important the book was。 I've read parts of this book 20 years ago， and I did not particularly like them， but I never forgot。 Now I have read the book again。 Wow！ Wow！ It certainly is not an easy book， but I'm now convinced that in 1984 （year of publication） it was - and I think it still is - an important one！ Everyone should have read this book。 Don't doubt。 Read！ 。。。more
David
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If you have a pattern of behavior that does not seek to maximize your own side and put one over on the other participants you can gain mutual benefit mutual cooperation without a central authority or without some pre arranged agreement。 Very curious take on affairs of all kinds。
Maxime
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A reference on game theory， and the iterated prisoner's dilemma in particular。 A lot of very insightful explanations on how to play the game and its implications。 The writing style is more that of a journal article than a book， and it can get quite repetitive between the chapters as a result。 A reference on game theory， and the iterated prisoner's dilemma in particular。 A lot of very insightful explanations on how to play the game and its implications。 The writing style is more that of a journal article than a book， and it can get quite repetitive between the chapters as a result。 。。。more
Alex Kahn
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Game theoretic analysis of Prisoner's Dilemma-style cooperation in various settings: business， politics， biology， etc。 Provides mathematical foundations for moral optimism。 Game theoretic analysis of Prisoner's Dilemma-style cooperation in various settings: business， politics， biology， etc。 Provides mathematical foundations for moral optimism。 。。。more
Lukáš Pelcman
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I think I have first heard of this book through a reference in some other book （I don't quite remember what book it was - perhaps Human Compatible）。 Then it kept reoccuring in several more instances so that I was left with no other choice than to finally read it。 The Evolution of Cooperation is an extraordinary book though it reminds me more of a collection of scientific articles published in variety of journals （which it actually is， at least to a certain extent， as some of the chapters were pu I think I have first heard of this book through a reference in some other book （I don't quite remember what book it was - perhaps Human Compatible）。 Then it kept reoccuring in several more instances so that I was left with no other choice than to finally read it。 The Evolution of Cooperation is an extraordinary book though it reminds me more of a collection of scientific articles published in variety of journals （which it actually is， at least to a certain extent， as some of the chapters were published independently）。 My key take from the book could be summarized as follows: it pays to cooperate with one and the other， if there is a sufficiently great shadow of the future， meaning that the future is not irrelevant。 That is， if there was no way of knowing for certain that each person would come across the other person in the future and knowing that their current encounter is or is not the last。 Possibly the best strategy to tackle such an iterated prisoner's dilemma is to be "nice" （not to be the first to defect）。 However， it is just as important to reciprocate other's actions （both with regard to cooperation as well as defection）。 A mythical eye for an eye seems appropriate here。 However， Axelrod suggests that perhaps the payback （negative reciprocity） should not be exactly eye for an eye but somewhat less stringent - enough to send a message but less so to avoid spiral of never ending mutual defection。 In the tournament， a so called TIT FOR TAT strategy appeared to be the most successful。 That may seem quite odd as TIT FOR TAT， despite being the winning strategy， did not actually do any better than any of the other competing strategies in one-on-one duel。 This sends a powerful message as to what constitutes "a win"。 Our common understanding is that "a win" is usually associated with defeat of the other; but Axelrod， based on the outcomes of his tournament， suggests that iterated prisoner's dilemma is not a zero-sum game， and neither are our lives。 The lesson to be taken here is， perhaps， to consider one's own actions regardless of the wellbeing or success of the other， but rather compared to one's own best strategy available （in other words: do not envy）。Under the circumstances in which the future plays sufficiently great deal in everyone's lives （which it does）， and especially if there is a rather non-negligible chance for the two persons meeting again， cooperative strategies and approaches to life seem the most promising and rational。 It is also interesting that such strategies should be robust enough to be able to eventually thrive in an environment full of various of other strategies and withstand the "attacks" of other exploitative actors。 Also， which is interesting， cooperative strategies are capable of infiltrating an environment of non-cooperative strategies， provided that cooperative strategies start in a cluster （while such a cluster need not be very big at all）。 The cooperation， or the cooperative strategy， is capable of developing without any foresign。 It is possible that the cooperation develops even between antagonists， solely based on reciprocity （live and let live systems during the World War I trench warfare being a prime example）。 Though foresign， as Axelrod argues， could significantly hasten the process。 We， human beings， could therefore enjoy our intelligence in order to be able to recognize much faster than under the blind forces of evolution the benefits of cooperation and try to maximize its effects to the benefit of us all。 。。。more
Jake Whitehouse
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Can't recommend it enough。 Its based on a simple game （The Prisoners Dilemma） but in its genericness lies its simplicity， and application to our lives。 It gives profound evidence to how cooperation develops， and how and why to apply its finding。 Profound ramifications for many areas and holds well at 35 years old。 My only regret is not reading it years ago。I would have liked to understand more on the good strategies in his tournament and failures， but is my only complaint。 Can't recommend it enough。 Its based on a simple game （The Prisoners Dilemma） but in its genericness lies its simplicity， and application to our lives。 It gives profound evidence to how cooperation develops， and how and why to apply its finding。 Profound ramifications for many areas and holds well at 35 years old。 My only regret is not reading it years ago。I would have liked to understand more on the good strategies in his tournament and failures， but is my only complaint。 。。。more
tinaathena
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Lots of good use cases and did help "dumb down" game theory and different examples of why "tit for tat" and reciprocity are such effective tools for cooperation。 Not my flavour for writing， very academic and analytical （which， fair。） but daaaaamn does the book repeat key concepts over and over again。 Truly could have shaved at least 20-30 pages off the book if it did not do so much re-iterating。 Lots of good use cases and did help "dumb down" game theory and different examples of why "tit for tat" and reciprocity are such effective tools for cooperation。 Not my flavour for writing， very academic and analytical （which， fair。） but daaaaamn does the book repeat key concepts over and over again。 Truly could have shaved at least 20-30 pages off the book if it did not do so much re-iterating。 。。。more
Neil
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Visa rec https://twitter。com/visakanv/status/1。。。 Visa rec https://twitter。com/visakanv/status/1。。。 。。。more
Callum Hair
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A great summary of one of the most influential works in Political Science。 The Evolution of Cooperation will help make sense of international relations right down to your day-to-day interactions with others。 The evolutionary perspective presented with Hamilton gives powerful evidence to the idea that cooperation is an adaptive trait in the biological world。 I have to agree with Dawkins' desire that every leader should read this book to better understand how to coexist with others in a competitiv A great summary of one of the most influential works in Political Science。 The Evolution of Cooperation will help make sense of international relations right down to your day-to-day interactions with others。 The evolutionary perspective presented with Hamilton gives powerful evidence to the idea that cooperation is an adaptive trait in the biological world。 I have to agree with Dawkins' desire that every leader should read this book to better understand how to coexist with others in a competitive world。 。。。more
Manali Begur
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on the prisoner's dilemma:"Asking how well you are doing compared to how well the other player is doing is not a good standard unless your goal is to destroy the other player。" （pg 111） on cooperation in biology:"Any symbiont that still has a chance to spread to other hosts by some process of infection would be expected to shift from mutualism to parasitism when the probability of continued interaction with the original host lessened。" （pg 103） on the prisoner's dilemma:"Asking how well you are doing compared to how well the other player is doing is not a good standard unless your goal is to destroy the other player。" （pg 111） on cooperation in biology:"Any symbiont that still has a chance to spread to other hosts by some process of infection would be expected to shift from mutualism to parasitism when the probability of continued interaction with the original host lessened。" （pg 103） 。。。more
Jorg Doku
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Fascinating read！ Highly recommend for anyone interested in game theory。"TIT FOR TAT， submitted by Professor Anatol Rapoport of the University of Toronto， won the tournament。 This was the simplest of all submitted programs and it turned out to be the best！ 。。。 The striking fact is that none of the more complex programs submitted was able to perform as well as the original， simple TIT FOR TAT。" Fascinating read！ Highly recommend for anyone interested in game theory。"TIT FOR TAT， submitted by Professor Anatol Rapoport of the University of Toronto， won the tournament。 This was the simplest of all submitted programs and it turned out to be the best！ 。。。 The striking fact is that none of the more complex programs submitted was able to perform as well as the original， simple TIT FOR TAT。" 。。。more
Edwin Rivera
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The idea that the most successful strategies are “nice” and “forgiving” is reassuring。 I regret that I did could not better grasp the abstract examples。 But I think I got the gist of it。
Mer
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This is a fundamental query of cooperation。 When do we do it， how do we participate， how can it sustains。 This book has opened up a fascinating direction pointing propensity for reciprocal altruism among antagonists。 The theory is definite， but we might want to take it further to metabolism and entropy。 Uneven resource consumption leads to imbalance collaboration， urban and rural， poor and rich， old and young， these corny dichotomies are pointing out cooperation can build upon exploitative relat This is a fundamental query of cooperation。 When do we do it， how do we participate， how can it sustains。 This book has opened up a fascinating direction pointing propensity for reciprocal altruism among antagonists。 The theory is definite， but we might want to take it further to metabolism and entropy。 Uneven resource consumption leads to imbalance collaboration， urban and rural， poor and rich， old and young， these corny dichotomies are pointing out cooperation can build upon exploitative relationships。 There is a reason why Karl Marx pinpoint on relationships instead of the behaviour itself， and this will surely be interesting for socialist to figure out resources re-distribution that is determined by time and space。 。。。more
Adam McCartney
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A fascinating read and also a great companion book to Derek Parfit's 'Reasons and Persons'。 Axelrod goes into significant detail about the better strategy for the well known prisoner's dilemma and offers up fascinating reading for anyone that is interested in game theory or morality。 A fascinating read and also a great companion book to Derek Parfit's 'Reasons and Persons'。 Axelrod goes into significant detail about the better strategy for the well known prisoner's dilemma and offers up fascinating reading for anyone that is interested in game theory or morality。 。。。more
Avi
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Excellent book and worth reading for anyone looking at how to make better decisions/navigate the world around us。 Especially important for social scientists/business people to read
Soumajyoti Sarkar
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This is one which I had to read in very few sittings - in a good way， this book grasps your logical reasoning stimulus and goes on describe various situations in game playing scenarios - for a game theorist or a theoretical computer scientist， this book might appear a little mellow。
Iliiaz Akhmedov
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This is probably my first game theory book。 In short， I learnt a lot of interesting things and a new perspective to the non-zero sum game。My review will be short。 This book is very much worth reading for curiosity and self development。
Vlad Olaru
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This book definitely deserves a re-read because the ideas are so simple at times， but such far reaching implications， that I often wondered if I missed something。It is written in a decent slightly academic tone and language， so no worries here。I think this is a book recommended for just about anyone， nice or mean， altruistic or egotistic， looking for solutions for one's own life situations or trying to improve business or social settings。I think I would have given it 5 stars （it was close） if it This book definitely deserves a re-read because the ideas are so simple at times， but such far reaching implications， that I often wondered if I missed something。It is written in a decent slightly academic tone and language， so no worries here。I think this is a book recommended for just about anyone， nice or mean， altruistic or egotistic， looking for solutions for one's own life situations or trying to improve business or social settings。I think I would have given it 5 stars （it was close） if it weren't for the moments where the mathematical proofs of the propositions got expanded a little too much and broke the train of thought。Oh， and the book is quite short， about 200 pages， the rest are appendixes and bibliography。 So the more reason not to shy away from it。 。。。more
B
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Amazing book。 Definitely an incredibly powerful idea that everyone should be familiar with。
Riccardo
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Friedman spoke about Tic For Tac in a NYT article on the trade war between the US and China。 Did a quick search and came across the book。 I ordered and read it: one of the best reads of the last few years。 The book outlines certain observations about cooperation， drawing from game theory， which resonate quickly into personal and daily and life experiences。 This is， among others， the magic of books， novels and essays: ideas and images that give meaning to what you have lived and will live。 Axelro Friedman spoke about Tic For Tac in a NYT article on the trade war between the US and China。 Did a quick search and came across the book。 I ordered and read it: one of the best reads of the last few years。 The book outlines certain observations about cooperation， drawing from game theory， which resonate quickly into personal and daily and life experiences。 This is， among others， the magic of books， novels and essays: ideas and images that give meaning to what you have lived and will live。 Axelrod does the trick in a reader-friendly way， summarizing in key simple words， experiences that would otherwise look like shapeless objects we never manage to grasp。 Mandatory。 。。。more
Phan Quang Nghia
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Axelrod gave good and universally applicable advice: please try to be nice， not foolishly， but do try。 He raised the importance of reciprocity， which is something that will improve the living condition of many people， societies and nations together。
John Burns
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This was an extremely dry， mathematics oriented book。 It's the first Maths book I've read and I stopped studying maths when I was 16 so a lot of this was kind of confusing and boring and flew over my head。 The central concept however seems to be very useful。 It casts all sorts of things （international relations， governments and their citizens， evolutionary theory， common morality etc） in an entirely new light。 I think the nuclear deterrent theory （and the way towards nuclear disarmament） make a This was an extremely dry， mathematics oriented book。 It's the first Maths book I've read and I stopped studying maths when I was 16 so a lot of this was kind of confusing and boring and flew over my head。 The central concept however seems to be very useful。 It casts all sorts of things （international relations， governments and their citizens， evolutionary theory， common morality etc） in an entirely new light。 I think the nuclear deterrent theory （and the way towards nuclear disarmament） make a little more sense to me now。It's not elegantly written and it definitely is not ideal for the average reader， but it's a fairly illuminating insight into what is clearly a hugely influential modern concept。 。。。more
Jeff
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