Machiavellian intelligence II: extensions and evaluations

Abstract

The first collection of essays, Machiavellian Intelligence (CH, Feb'89), by the same editors, established the concept that the primate brain is primarily a social organ whose evolution is best understood by the advantage it gives in manipulating others of the same species. This concept is now widely accepted, and this new volume of essays does not so much advance the concept as demonstrate the great variety of subjects that may be considered in this light. Topics range from the anatomy of the brain to the structure of human agricultural societies. Some essays strengthen and extend the hypothesis, while others advocate alternatives. The work will be of primary use in graduate level institutions. Undergraduate libraries should acquire basic recent works on primate behavior such as those by Dorothy L. Cheney and Frans B.M. De Waal before considering this volume. The essays contain little or no data; there is a minimal index. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.