Reciprocal altruism is really mutualism, not altruism

Evidence

Trivers described his own model of mutually beneficial reciprocal interactions as “reciprocal altruism,” but this has been a source of confusion since what is involved is a form of mutualism and hence not of altruism as ordinarily understood. — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 211

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies the historical terminological confusion around ‘reciprocal altruism’ in evolutionary theory.
• XREF: Connects to the reader’s project on mutualistic morality and the Baumard et al. framework about partner choice. — connects to: Small transparent groups need no moralizing gods to sustain cooperation — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 409; Group solidarity and in-group favoritism derive from mutualistic relationships, not independent moral rules. — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality: The…, 705; Mutualism pays off through average expected benefits, not guaranteed returns — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality: The…, 79 (+9 more)

Related

• Competitive altruism permits unconditional giving rather than matched reciprocity (similarity 0.85)
• Generalized reciprocity cannot be explained by partner-control mechanisms. (similarity 0.84)
• Altruistic cooperators still choose partners they trust and cooperate only where reciprocation is possible. (similarity 0.84)
• Mutualism pays off through average expected benefits, not guaranteed returns (similarity 0.82)
• Morality requires mutual advantage, not strict accounting of reciprocated acts. (similarity 0.81)
• Group solidarity and in-group favoritism derive from mutualistic relationships, not independent moral rules. (similarity 0.81)
• Lifetime accounting makes apparent altruism actually mutualistic. (similarity 0.81)
• Mutualism faces three challenges, all involving cost without visible return. (similarity 0.80)
• The appearance of social contract arises from evolved mutualistic obligation, not real agreement. (similarity 0.80)
• Natural selection favors both the disposition to reciprocate and to volunteer help proactively. (similarity 0.80)
• Reciprocated cooperation teaches one to internalize others’ interests (similarity 0.80)
• Reciprocity motivations can be self-reinforcing where further interactions are plentiful (similarity 0.79)
• Reciprocal trust creates mutual incentives for trustworthiness (similarity 0.79)
• Competition for partners drives costly reputation-building cooperation. (similarity 0.79)
• Mutualistic cost-benefit logic may explain transcendent moral sentiment. (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Small communities enforce generalized reciprocity rather than one-on-one exchange #complicates (0.80) — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 821
• Fairness is not reducible to mutualistic partner choice. #contradicts (0.78) — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 567
• Kinship and reciprocity alone cannot explain large-scale human cooperation #contradicts (0.75) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 648
• Parochial altruism and self-sacrifice exceed mutualistic fairness models. #contradicts (0.72) — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 269