Selfish Genes to Social Beings: A Cooperative History of Life

by Jonathan Silvertown

For all the "selfishness" of genes, they team up to survive. Is the history of life in fact a story of cooperation?Amid the violence and brutality that dominates the news, it's hard to think of ourselves as team players. But cooperation, Jonathan Silvertown argues, is a fundamental part of our make-up, and deeply woven into the whole four-billion-year history of life. Starting with human society, Silvertown digs deeper, to show how cooperation is key to the cells forming our organs, to symbiosis between organisms, to genes that band together, to the dawn of life itself. Cooperation has enabled life tothrive and become complex. Without it, life would never have begun.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science

256 pages, Hardcover

Published July 11, 2024

About the author

Jonathan was born and raised in London and his schoolboy nature watching was done while taking furtive short-cuts on cross-country runs across Hampstead Heath. He made much faster progress when running back from Hampstead’s bookshops in time to beat the end of lunch hour bell. His first scientific paper was submitted with an epigraph by Walter de la Mare which the editor removed with a snide comment, and ever since Jonathan has done his best to hide the poetry in his scientific prose. In Orchard Invisible the poet emerges barefaced in the very first line with the words: “Seeds have a mirrored life, the original in nature and another reflected in literature and the imagination.”

Reviews

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first chapter of this book was so irritating if I was a compulsive finisher, I wouldn't have gone much further, which would have been a shame, because once you get past the pirates and the weird Peter Kropotkin bits, this turns into a readable, cogent summary of how cooperation could be selected for through natural selection, and why it is not incompatible with a "selfish genes" view of genetics. Having recently read a bunch of books challenging the narrow view of natural selection and genetic inheritance that is very much on display here, I also found the traditional approach a little disappointing, but the book has undeniable strengths that make it worth recommending as an introduction to the field. This became most acute with the deployment of terminology like "cheating" and "genetic parasites"to describe the non-coding parts of DNA, which influence, in ways we do not fully understand, the replication and activation process of DNA.
One of these strengths is the excellent referencing and the generosity with which Silvertown credits some of the more interesting concepts to the writing of others. Particularly impressive, although it shouldn't be, is that Silvertown credits pioneers including Sarah Blaffer Hrdy (who has a new book out!), Marlene Zuk, and Suzanne Simard without ever commenting on their gender or how great it is that women science too. The book also features a good summary of the work of Lynn Margulies and its significance, without the need to discuss her personality or personal life, which is as it should be, but not always as it is.
Overall, this is a good, wide-ranging, and thoughtful summary of how essential cooperation is to life. However, there are better books I think for understanding a more contemporary view of how cooperation and biology intersect. And ones that don't use dated stereotypes of pirates as a personality class, not an economic one.

[Mati 'Matimajczyta' · Rating 5 out of 5]

Książka jest ciekawa i bogata w informacje, a jej struktura jest przejrzysta i uporządkowana. Autor wykazuje się dużą wiedzą na temat omawianych zagadnień. Styl komunikacji jest prosty i przystępny, co sprawia, że książka jest łatwa do przeczytania, mimo że niektóre rozdziały mogą być przytłaczające pod względem zawartości.

Głównym mankamentem jest niewystarczająca ilość treści poświęconych ludzkiej współpracy. Książka skupia się głównie na biologicznym świecie w skali mikro, oferując wiele interesujących informacji dla osób zainteresowanych szeroko pojętą współpracą, w tym „samolubnymi genami”, bakteriami, mikrobiomami i innymi wielokomórkowcami. Autor wspomina również o współpracy wśród owadów, ptaków i innych gatunków zwierząt. Jednak stron poświęconych człowiekowi jest zbyt mało, a większość treści koncentruje się na osobach, które przyczyniły się do odkryć omawianych w książce.

To podejście daje świeże spojrzenie na człowieka i pozwala lepiej zrozumieć bliski, choć niewielki świat wokół nas. Autor wyjaśnia na końcu, dlaczego skupił się na takim rozkładzie materiału i dlaczego człowiek stał się początkiem książki, a potem zszedł na drugi plan. Mimo to, brakuje mi więcej ludzkiej perspektywy w tej współpracy.

[Marco Ferrari · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliantly written analysis of the history of life from a perspective different from the (incorrect) Darwinian cliché of "nature red in tooth and claw." The dichotomy between cooperation and competition has played out throughout the entire history of life on Earth, and choosing one perspective over the other is a mistake. This book clarifies how cooperation has been, from the very beginning (billions of years ago), one of the key drivers in the rise of complexity and biodiversity. The level of explanation is excellent, and the author is renowned for their engaging writing style.

[The Inquisitive Biologist · Rating 5 out of 5]

Selfish Genes to Social Beings relies on a potent combination of human-interest stories, wit, and ingenious metaphors to convince you that cooperation is an important component driving evolution. Read my full review at https://inquisitivebiologist.com/2025...