Accepting Authoritative Decisions: Humans as Wary Cooperators

Accepting Authoritative Decisions: Humans as Wary Cooperators

Natural cooperators: food sharing in humans and other primates.

The study of cooperation is rich with theoretical models and laboratory experiments that have greatly advanced our knowledge of human uniqueness, but have sometimes lacked ecological validity. We therefore emphasize the need to tie discussions of human cooperation to the natural history of our species and its closest relatives, focusing on behavioral contexts best suited to reveal underlying se...

Persistent cooperators in nature.

The evolution and maintenance of cooperation fascinated researchers for several decades. Recently, theoretical models and experimental evidence show that costly punishment may facilitate cooperation in human societies. The puzzle how the costly punishment behaviour evolves can be solved under voluntary participation. Could the punishers emerge if participation is compulsory? Is the punishment i...

Intuition as authoritative knowledge in midwifery and homebirth.

As defined by Jordan (1992, 1993[1978]), authoritative knowledge motivates decision and action. Based on interviews with 22 white middle-class midwives in the United States conducted between 1992 and 1993, this article explores the inner knowing that constitutes a primary source of authoritative knowledge for homebirthers but is granted no authority in the realm of technomedicine. The purpose o...

Intuition and the emergence of midwifery as authoritative knowledge.

Intuition and the Emergence of Midwifery as Authoritative Knowledge ne of my first teachers in midwifery was a wonderful family doctor who told me that it was vital to pay attention to what mothers had to say about their babies. My doctor friend had not learned in medical school to place such value on mothers' intuitions; he had learned this from his mentor, an older physician whose practice he...