Humans are obligately interdependent, not naturally solitary

Evidence

From this neo-Darwinian perspective, solitary living is considered to be the primal condition. Group life is viewed as costly, so, “Without some positive advantage to grouping, groups will naturally disperse as individuals revert to the logically more primitive state of a solitary existence” (Dunbar, 1989, p. 701). There are two points we wish to make about this claim of fundamental self-interest. First, Dunbar is correct, as far as the logic of population genetics goes. But from the perspective of the phenotype, and in particular, the human phenotype, which is our object of investigation, the logic falls short. Humans are trapped into group living, which is a solution to the free rider problem (Brewer & Caporael, 2006). They are constrained by their morphology (e.g., their lack of natural defenses such as deadly incisors or tough hides, their long period of infant helplessness, and their slow bipedal mode of locomotion) and their ecology (e.g., their mode of subsistence extraction in combination with the carrying capacity of their habitat). Thus, humans are obligately interdependent: they are unable to reproduce and survive to reproductive age without a group even in technologically advanced regions. Without dismissing the significance of individual self-interest in group life, the central problem for understanding the biology of social life is coordination. — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 385 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Most behavioral scientists today accept the basic premise that human beings are adapted for group living. Even a cursory review of the physical endowments of our species—weak, hairless, extended infancy— makes it clear that we are not suited for survival as lone individuals, or even as small family units. Many of the evolved characteristics that have permitted humans to adapt to a wide range of physical environments, such as omnivorousness and tool making, create dependence on collective knowledge and cooperative information sharing. As a consequence, human beings are characterized by obligatory interdependence (Caporael & Brewer, 1995), and our evolutionary history is a story of coevolution of genetic endowment, social structure, and culture. — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 2503 (#expands, via linked claim)

Dunbar is correct, as far as the logic of population genetics goes. But from the perspective of the phenotype, and in particular, the human phenotype, which is our object of investigation, the logic falls short. Humans are trapped into group living, which is a solution to the free rider problem (Brewer & Caporael, 2006). They are constrained by their morphology (e.g., their lack of natural defenses such as deadly incisors or tough hides, their long period of infant helplessness, and their slow bipedal mode of locomotion) and their ecology (e.g., their mode of subsistence extraction in combination with the carrying capacity of their habitat). Thus, humans are obligately interdependent: they are unable to reproduce and survive to reproductive age without a group even in technologically advanced regions. Without dismissing the significance of individual self-interest in group life, the central problem for understanding the biology of social life is coordination. — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 385 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The human race is constituted by free individual choices, not vice versa — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness: An Essay on…, 1222; Individualism treats humans as autonomous accumulators detached from community. — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education: Toward Diverse,…, 551; Humans are obligately interdependent and cannot survive without groups — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 385 (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• Humans are obligately interdependent and cannot survive without groups #corroborates (1.00) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 385
• Humans are obligatorily interdependent because their evolved traits require group living #expands (0.95) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 2503
• Human group living is obligate, driven by morphology and ecology rather than choice #corroborates (0.95) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 385