Hostname: page-component-6766d58669-nf276 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-20T13:08:48.337Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Cooperation, Cognition, and the Elusive Role of Joint Agency

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 April 2025

Stephen M. Downes Open the ORCID record for Stephen M. Downes [Opens in a new window] ,
Patrick Forber Open the ORCID record for Patrick Forber [Opens in a new window]  and
Joshua Shepherd Open the ORCID record for Joshua Shepherd [Opens in a new window]
Stephen M. Downes
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Patrick Forber*
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, Tufts University, Medford, MA USA
Joshua Shepherd
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, ICREA/Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
*
Corresponding author: Patrick Forber; Email: patrick.forber@tufts.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We propose an approach to the evolution of joint agency and cooperative behavior that contrasts with views that take joint agency to be a uniquely human trait. We argue that there is huge variation in cooperative behavior and that while much human cooperative behavior may be explained by invoking cognitively rich capacities, there is cooperative behavior that does not require such explanation. On both comparative and theoretical grounds, complex cognition is not necessary for forms of joint action or the evolution of cooperation. As a result, promising evolutionary approaches to cooperative behavior should explain how it arises across many contexts.

Information

Type
Article
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 93 , Issue 1 , January 2026 , pp. 103 - 122
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Philosophy of Science Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Baron, Andrew B., Halina, Marta, and Klein, Colin. 2023. “Transitions in Cognitive Evolution.” Proceedings of the Royal Society B 290 (2002):20230671. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.0671.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benoit-Bird, Kelly J., and Au, Whitlow W. L.. 2009a. “Cooperative Prey Herding by the Pelagic Dolphin, Stenella longirostris .” Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 125 (1):125–37. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.2967480.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Benoit-Bird, Kelly J., and Au, Whitlow W. L.. 2009b. “Phonation Behavior of Cooperatively Foraging Spinner Dolphins.” Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 125 (1):539–46. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.2967477.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bratman, Michael E. 1992. “Shared Cooperative Activity.” Philosophical Review 101 (2):327–41. https://doi.org/10.2307/2185537.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bratman, Michael E. 1993. “Shared Intention.” Ethics 104 (1):97–113. https://doi.org/10.1086/293577.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bugnyar, Thomas, Reber, Stephan A., and Buckner, Cameron. 2016. “Ravens Attribute Visual Access to Unseen Competitors.” Nature Communications 7:10506. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10506.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Buss, Leo. 1988. The Evolution of Individuality. Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400858712.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Butterfill, Stephan, and Pacherie, Elisabeth. 2020. “Towards a Blueprint for a Social Animal.” In Minimal Cooperation and Shared Agency: Studies in the Philosophy of Sociality, vol. 11, edited by Fiebich, Anika. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29783-1_7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Butterfill, Stephen, and Sinigaglia, Corrado. 2023. “Towards a Mechanistically Neutral Account of Acting Jointly: The Notion of a Collective Goal.” Mind 132 (525):1–29. https://doi.org/10.1093/mind/fzab096.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calcagno, James M., and Fuentes, Agustín. 2012. “What Makes Us Human? Answers from Evolutionary Anthropology.” Evolutionary Anthropology 21 (5):182–94. https://doi.org/10.1002/evan.21328.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Conradt, Larissa, and List, Christian. 2009. “Group Decisions in Humans and Animals: A Survey.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 364 (1518):719–42. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2008.0276.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Duguid, Shona, Wyman, Emily, Bullinger, Anke F., Herfurth-Majstorovic, Katharina, and Tomasello, Michael. 2014. “Coordination Strategies of Chimpanzees and Human Children in a Stag Hunt Game.” Proceedings of the Royal Society B 281 (1796):20141973. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.1973.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Epstein, Brian. 2015. The Ant Trap: Rebuilding the Foundations of the Social Sciences. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199381104.001.0001.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilbert, Margaret. 1992. On Social Facts. Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691214627.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilbert, Margaret. 2009. “Shared Intention and Personal Intentions.” Philosophical Studies 144:167–87. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11098-009-9372-z.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gold, Natalie, and Sugden, Robert. 2007. “Collective Intentions and Team Agency.” Journal of Philosophy 104 (3):109–37. https://doi.org/10.5840/jphil2007104328.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Griesemer, Jim, and Shavit, Ayelet. 2023. “Scaffolding Individuality: Coordination, Cooperation, Collaboration and Community.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 378 (1872):20210398. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2021.0398.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grueneisen, Sebastian, Duguid, Shona, Saur, Heiko, and Tomasello, Michael. 2017. “Children, Chimpanzees, and Bonobos Adjust the Visibility of Their Actions for Cooperators and Competitors.” Scientific Reports 7:8504. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-08435-7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hamilton, Rebecca A., Gazda, Stefanie K., King, Stephanie L., Starkhammer, Josefin, and Connor, Richard C.. 2022. “Bottlenose Dolphin Communication During a Role-Specialized Group Foraging Task.” Behavioural Processes 200:104691. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2022.104691.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hawkes, Kristen. 2004. “The Grandmother Effect.” Nature 428:128–29. https://doi.org/10.1038/428128a.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hawkes, Kristen. 2020. “Cognitive Consequences of Our Grandmothering Life History: Cultural Learning Begins in Infancy.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 375 (1803):20190501. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2019.0501.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hawkes, Kristen, James O’Connell, Nicholas Blurton-Jones, Alvarez, H., and Charnov, Eric L.. 1998. “Grandmothering, Menopause, and the Evolution of Human Life Histories.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 95 (3):1336–1339. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.95.3.1336.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Held, Amy. 2019. “Chimpanzees Build Makeshift Ladder, Break Free from Zoo Enclosure.” NPR, February 11. https://www.npr.org/2019/02/11/693560383/chimpanzees-build-ladder-to-break-free-from-belfast-zoo-enclosure.Google Scholar
Hrdy, Sarah B. 2009. Mothers and Others: The Evolutionary Origins of Mutual Understanding. Belknap Press.Google Scholar
Inglis, R. Fredrik, Brown, Sam P., and Buckling, Angus. 2012. “Spite Versus Cheats: Competition Among Social Strategies Shapes Virulence in Pseudomonas aeruginosa .” Evolution 66 (11):3472–3484. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2012.01706.x.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Joyce, Richard. 2006. The Evolution of Morality. MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/2880.001.0001.Google Scholar
Kaufmann, Angelica. 2015. “Animal Mental Action: Planning Among Chimpanzees.” Review of Philosophy and Psychology 6:745–60. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13164-014-0228-x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaufmann, Angelica. 2016. “Collective Intentionality: A Human—Not a Monkey—Business.” Phenomenology and Mind 2:98–105. https://doi.org/10.13128/Phe_Mi-19629.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ludwig, Kirk. 2020. “What Is Minimally Cooperative Behavior?” In Minimal Cooperation and Shared Agency: Studies in the Philosophy of Sociality, vol. 11, edited by Fiebich, Anika. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29783-1_6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacNulty, Daniel R., Smith, Douglas W., David Mech, L., Vucetich, John A., and Packer, Craig. 2012. “Nonlinear Effects of Group Size on the Success of Wolves Hunting Elk.” Behavioral Ecology 23 (1):75–82. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arr159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacNulty, Daniel R., Tallian, Aimee, Stahler, Daniel R., and Smith, Douglas W.. 2014. “Influence of Group Size on the Success of Wolves Hunting Bison.” PLOS One 9 (11):e112884. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0112884.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maynard Smith, John, and Szathmáry, Eors. 1995. The Major Transitions in Evolution. W. H. Freeman Spektrum.Google Scholar
McMahon, Christopher. 2005. “Shared Agency and Rational Cooperation.” Noûs 39 (2):284–308. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0029-4624.2005.00502.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moore, Richard. 2017. “Social Cognition, Stag Hunts, and the Evolution of Language.” Biology and Philosophy 32:797–818. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10539-017-9598-7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moore, Richard. 2018. “Gricean Communication, Joint Action, and the Evolution of Cooperation.” Topoi 37 (2):329–41. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11245-016-9372-5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Okasha, Samir. 2018. Agents and Goals in Evolution. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198815082.001.0001.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paternotte, Cédric. 2014. “Minimal Cooperation.” Philosophy of the Social Sciences 44 (1):45–73. https://doi.org/10.1177/0048393112457428.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pettit, Philip, and List, Christian. 2011. Group Agency: The Possibility, Design, and Status of Corporate Agents. Oxford University Press. Google Scholar
Pettit, Philip, and Schweikard, David P.. 2006. “Joint Actions and Group Agents.” Philosophy of Social Sciences 36 (1):18–39. https://doi.org/10.1177/0048393105284169.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Planer, Ron, and Sterelny, Kim. 2021. From Signal to Symbol: The Evolution of Language. MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/13906.001.0001.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ritchie, Katherine. 2020. “Minimal Cooperation and Group Roles.” In Minimal Cooperation and Shared Agency: Studies in the Philosophy of Sociality, vol. 11, edited by Fiebich, Anika. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29783-1_6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rovane, Carol. 2019. “Is Group Agency a Social Phenomenon?” Synthese 196:4869–4898. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-017-1384-1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sayigh, Laela S., Haddad, Nicole El, Tyack, Peter L., Janik, Vincent M., Wells, Randall S., and Jensen, Frants H.. 2023. “Bottlenose Dolphin Mothers Modify Signature Whistles in the Presence of Their Own Calves.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 120 (27):e2300262120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2300262120.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schweikard, David P., and Bernhard Schmid, Hans. 2021. “Collective Intentionality.” In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, edited by Edward N. Zalta. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2021/entries/collective-intentionality/.Google Scholar
Skyrms, Brian. 2004. The Stag Hunt and the Evolution of Social Structure. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139165228.Google Scholar
Skyrms, Brian. 2014. The Evolution of the Social Contract. 2nd edition. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139924825.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sterelny, Kim. 2012. The Evolved Apprentice: How Evolution Made Humans Unique. MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9780262016797.001.0001.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sterelny, Kim. 2021. The Pleistocene Social Contract: Culture and Cooperation in Human Evolution. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197531389.001.0001.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, Alex H., Elliffe, Douglas, Hunt, Gavin R., and Gray, Russell D.. 2010. “Complex Cognition and Behavioural Innovation in New Caledonian Crows.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 277 (1694):2637–2643. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2010.0285.Google ScholarPubMed
Tomasello, Michael. 2014. A Natural History of Human Thinking. Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674726369.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tomasello, Michael. 2016. A Natural History of Human Morality. Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674915855.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tomasello, Michael. 2019. Becoming Human: A Theory of Ontogeny. Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674988651.Google Scholar
Tomasello, Michael. 2020a. “The Adaptive Origins of Uniquely Human Sociality.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 375 (1803):20190493. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2019.0493.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tomasello, Michael. 2020b. “The Moral Psychology of Obligation.” Behavioral and Brain Sciences 43:e56. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X19001742.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tomasello, Michael, Hare, Brian, Lehmann, Hagen, and Call, Josep. 2007. “Reliance on Head Versus Eyes in the Gaze Following of Great Apes and Human Infants: The Cooperative Eye Hypothesis.” Journal of Human Evolution 52 (3):314–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2006.10.001.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tomasello, Michael, Melis, Alicia P., Tennie, Claudio, Wyman, Emily, and Herrmann, Esther. 2012. “Two Key Steps in the Evolution of Human Cooperation: The Interdependence Hypothesis.” Current Anthropology 53 (6):673–92. https://doi.org/10.1086/668207.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tuomela, Raimo. 1992. “On the Structural Aspects of Collective Action and Free-Riding.” Theory and Decision 32:165–202. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00134050.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tuomela, Raimo, and Miller, Kaarlo 1988. “We-Intentions.” Philosophical Studies 53:367–89. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00353512.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Westra, Evan, and Andrews, Kristen. 2022. “A Pluralistic Framework for the Psychology of Norms.” Biology and Philosophy 37:40. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10539-022-09871-0.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whiten, Andrew, Ayala, Francisco J., Feldman, Marcus W., and Laland, Kevin N.. 2017. “The Extension of Biology Through Culture.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114 (30):7775–781. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1707630114.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wrangham, Richard. 2019. The Goodness Paradox: The Strange Relationship Between Virtue and Violence in Human Evolution. Pantheon Books.Google Scholar
Zuberbühler, Klaus. 2008. “Gaze Following.” Current Biology 18 (11):R453–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2008.03.015.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed