Re: Article: Group selection, a theory whose time has come...again

John Harshman wrote:

chris thompson wrote:

(snip)

Is it unreasonable to think that if a given situation somehow favors
group selection, the most profitable group would be one composed of
relatives? You would seem to get the best of both worlds in that
case. Most groups I can think of in natural populations seem to
consist of kin, unless there are compelling reasons to make it
otherwise- for instance, groups that come together for the sole
purpose of reproduction, like herds of deer. And, actually, even they
have some degree of relatedness if I recall my Big Game Management
course correctly.

Sure. In that case we call it kin selection. You may say that kin
selection is a form of group selection, and it is possible to think of
it that way, yet the best understanding is in terms of individual fitness.


Reciprocal altruism is a similar mechanism, which again is initially a
behavior that promotes individualfitness. But both kin selection and
reciprocal altruism lead to behaviors which benefit the group as a whole,
and both are initially resistant to cheaters. So it would seem at some
point the behaviors could become widespread enough within a part of a
population to create a situation where a more altruistic group would be
able to outcompete a less altruistic group. There still has to be a
mechanism to prevent invasion by cheaters, and I would think also a
mechanism to isolate in-group vs. out-group, before getting to true group
selection.

Now I think I had better read the article to find out what Wilson and Wilson
are really talking about, since none of this argument is news to them.

--
Yours, Bill Morse

.

Relevant Pages

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