Invisible Rivals

How We Evolved to Compete in a Cooperative World

Jonathan R Goodman, Robert A. Foley

$51.95

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Yale University Press
24 July 2025

Social theory; Psychological theory & schools of thought; Social, group or collective psychology; Evolution

A multidisciplinary view of how our competitive and cooperative natures make us human

For centuries, people have argued about whether humans are moral animals—good or bad, cooperative or competitive, altruistic or selfish. The debates continue today, dressed up in the language of modern science. In this book, Jonathan R. Goodman makes the case for synthesizing the two sides. Drawing on insights from anthropology, evolutionary biology, and philosophy, he argues that rather than being fundamentally cooperative or competitive, we are capable of being both—and of exploiting each other when there is an opportunity to do so.

The core of invisible rivalry is how we make ourselves and others believe that we are acting cooperatively even as we manipulate those around us for our own benefit. In confronting this collective tendency toward self-interest, Goodman says, we can make the fundamental first step in fixing the breakdown of trust in society. Consequently, we will be better able to combat the myriad issues we face today, including widespread inequality, misinformation in a new technological environment, and climate change.

By: Jonathan R Goodman
Foreword by: Robert A. Foley
Imprint: Yale University Press
Country of Publication: United States [Currently unable to ship to USA: see Shipping Info]
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 140mm,
ISBN: 9780300274356
ISBN 10: 0300274351
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 24 July 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Jonathan R. Goodman is a social scientist based at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and Cambridge Public Health, University of Cambridge. He writes about trust, inequality, and evolutionary theory for publications including the Financial Times, New Scientist, Nature, The Guardian, and Scientific American. He lives in London, UK. Robert A. Foley is emeritus professor of human evolution at the University of Cambridge, a senior fellow of King’s College, Cambridge, a fellow of the Alan Turing Institute, and a fellow of the British Academy. He is based in Cambridge, UK.

Reviews for Invisible Rivals: How We Evolved to Compete in a Cooperative World

“Humans are inherently neither nice nor nasty, but we use cooperative and competitive tools like choosing irons in golf. It is as unsettling a point as it is important, and Jonathan Goodman makes it all but incontrovertible.”—David C. Lahti, The City University of New York