Darwin's Cathedral
Darwin's Cathedral by David Sloan Wilsonby David Sloan Wilson
Shares rank 47 of 50 popular science books by recommenders
People recommend it as a readable account of group selection and how humans came to cooperate, and say it synthesizes more rigorous work on the subject.
People recommend it as a readable account of group selection and how humans came to cooperate, and say it synthesizes more rigorous work on the subject.
2 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 2
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 2 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Clear case for group selection
“It's a recent take on the old idea of group selection, a theory that attempts to explain the human drive to cooperate.”
Comment from 15 Dec 2025 in “What is the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for you?” “that book plus the story of this tribe have served to shove me firmly into the land of absolute belief in this idea”
Comment from 11 May 2026 in “Silverback Imfura took a chance, and ended up alone” Appeals to readers of this kind of book
“I already feel a kindred spirit behind that book”
Comment from 7 Mar 2026 in “The yoghurt delivery women combatting loneliness in Japan” “This class of book is something I enjoy.”
Comment from 15 Dec 2025 in “What is the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for you?”
Other popular science books people recommend
The four most recommended other popular science books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gödel, Escher, Bachby Douglas R. Hofstadter | 47 | 10 | 82% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Thinking, Fast and Slowby Daniel Kahneman | 17 | 13 | 57% | 9 | — | — |
| Thinking in Systemsby Donella H. Meadows and Diana Wright | 17 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| The Selfish Geneby Richard Dawkins | 14 | 5 | 74% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Darwin's Cathedralby David Sloan WilsonThis page | 2 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
All 6 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Lots more like that in Darwin's Cathedral”
“Darwin's Cathedral had a far better synthesis of various much more rigorous takes on the subject”
“that book plus the story of this tribe have served to shove me firmly into the land of absolute belief in this idea”
“I already feel a kindred spirit behind that book”
“This class of book is something I enjoy.”
“It's a recent take on the old idea of group selection, a theory that attempts to explain the human drive to cooperate.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.