Human nature is enigmatic. Are we cruel, selfish creatures or good merciful Samaritans? This book takes you on a journey into the complexities of human mind and kind, from altruism, sharing, and large-scale cooperation, to cheating, distrust, and warfare. What are the building blocks of morality and sociality? Featuring contributions from leading researchers, such as Christophe Boesch, Leda Cosmides and John Tooby, Azar Gat, Dennis Krebs, Ara Norenzayan, and Frans B. M. de Waal, this fascinating interdisciplinary reader draws on evolutionary and comparative perspectives, and is essential reading for any students interested in the unique characteristics that define humanity and society.

From reviews of the hardback: "A fascinating book which deserves a wide audience." European Medical Journal

"a very significant contribution to the field of evolutionary thinking on human psychology and culture." British Journal of Medical Psychology

Researchers have long been aware that the species-typical architecture of the human mind is the product of our evolutionary history, but it has only been in the last three decades that advances in such fields as evolutionary biology, cognitive psychology, and paleoanthropology have been made which have highlighted these changes. This book introduces the newly crystallizing field of evolutionary psychology to a wider scientific audience and focuses on the evolved information-processing mechanisms that comprise the human mind.