Abstract

Tomasello’s view of comparative primatology and human evolution is part of an emerging paradigm and his main empirical contribution has been the comparative study of great apes and human children. He has also contributed to the overall theoretical framework, but his rendering of the major theories of social evolution – such as kin selection, reciprocity, and levels of selection – is problematic. To correct this problem, I briefly review the concept of equivalence (theories that invoke the same causal processes from different perspectives) and provide a “translation manual” so that the thesis of Tomasello’s book can be seen more clearly and better related to the work of others who are helping to develop the same paradigm.