The view that our species is basically brutal defies the evidence: „There is a very tiny handful of incidences of conflict and possible warfare before 10,000 years ago,“ says archaeologist Jonathan Haas of the Field Museum in Chicago, „and those are very much the exception.“ Our species has a vastly longer experience evolving in close-knit communities, knowing our lives depended on one another. The result is at least six inherent traits we can foster, once we learn to navigate the world with the map of eco-mind.

1. Cooperation