ABSTRACT
Of all the social behaviours which have evolved in humans, the capacity for co-operative action is of profound importance. Many of the innate information processing competencies, which make available the capacity to learn social rules, are probably related to the evolution of co-operation. These social rules, once learned, make possible forms of relationships that give humans the unique capacity to link in complex communicational networks that may loosely be labelled as "culture". The evolved motivational and evaluative mechanisms which make co-operation possible serve to provide the basis of moral values and behaviours which keep egotistical-competitive behaviours in check. Some have suggested that a spur to co-operation arose from the ice age which rendered the environment more hostile. Tool use, digging for roots, hunting, shelter preparation and so on were more effective when carried out co-operatively.
