Passion for Cooperation

Robert Axelrod is Distinguished University Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, Emeritus, at the University of Michigan. He is best known for his work on the evolution of cooperation. His many honors include a MacArthur Prize Fellowship and the National Medal of Science, “nation’s highest honor for scientific achievement and leadership.”

• Table of ContentsList of IllustrationsForeword by Douglas HofstadterPart I. A Splendid Education1. Family, Math, and Competitiveness2. Computers and Modeling3. Culture and More Math at College 4. Internships on Statistics, Evolution, and National Security5. Political Science in Graduate SchoolPart II. Being There6. Berkeley in a Time of Troubles, 1968-747. Walking the Interdisciplinary Walk at Michigan, 1974-Part III. Cooperation8. Tournaments9. Evolution10. Trench Warfare11. ResponsesPart IV. Self-Organization12. Minimizing the Strangeness of Bedfellows13. Social Polarization14. Belief SystemsPart V. Sex and Cancer15. The Reason for Sexual Reproduction16. Cancer as Social DysfunctionPart VI. Outside the Ivory Tower17. Opposing the Vietnam War18. Trying to Reduce the Risk of War19. Countering Hostile InfluencePart VII. Concluding Thoughts20. Crossing the Moat21. Looking ForwardAcknowledgmentsEndnotesList of Illustrations Figure 1. In Oval Office, March 6,1961Figure 2. The BACH group in the late 1980sFrom left to right: Michael Cohen, Robert Axelrod, William Hamilton, Arthur Burks, John Holland, Rick Riolo, Michael Savageau, Carl Simon.Figure 3. Possible Alignments on the Eve of World War IIFigure 4. Rich Davis, me, Scott Atran, and Safwat Hegazi in Cairo, Oct. 2012Figure 5. Receiving the National Medal of Science from President Barack Obama, November 20, 2014

“Bob Axelrod is among the most creative and influential social scientists of his generation. He has won virtually every major scholarly award in the various fields to which he has contributed and often helped to create. His autobiography gives us a unique inside-out view of how this remarkable mind works.”—Robert D. Putnam, Harvard Kennedy School, author of Bowling Alone