The Evolution of Reciprocal Altruism.

TRIVERS, Robert L.

$850.00

Item Number: 136255

Cambridge, Mass.: Reprinted from The Quarterly Review of Biology, 1971.

First appearance of Trivers’ enormously influential first published paper, written while he was still earning his PhD at Harvard under Bayr and Drury in which he coined the term “reciprocal altruism” as well as “delayed return altruism.” Octavo, disbound from the original journal. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front panel, “To Jeff Kurland, a little something I thought you might enjoy. Bob.” The recipient, Jeffrey A. Kurland, was a distinguished professor of biological anthropology and evolution at Penn State. In fine condition. With Kurland’s Peabody Museum, Harvard University ownership stamp. Small tape repair to the front panel. Very rare in the trade and in libraries.

Trivers originally submitted this article under the title "The Evolution of Delayed Return Altruism", but reviewer W. D. Hamilton suggested that he change the title to "The Evolution of Reciprocal Altruism." The concept of "reciprocal altruism", as introduced by Trivers, suggests that altruism, defined as an act of helping another individual while incurring some cost for this act, could have evolved since it might be beneficial to incur this cost if there is a chance of being in a reverse situation where the individual who was helped before may perform an altruistic act towards the individual who helped them initially. This concept finds its roots in the work of W.D. Hamilton, who developed mathematical models for predicting the likelihood of an altruistic act to be performed on behalf of one's kin.