Kin Selection, Group Selection, and the Varieties of Population Structure
@article{Birch2020KinSG, title={Kin Selection, Group Selection, and the Varieties of Population Structure}, author={Jonathan Birch}, journal={The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science}, year={2020}, volume={71}, pages={259 - 286} }
Various results show the ‘formal equivalence’ of kin and group selectionist methodologies, but this does not preclude there being a real and useful distinction between kin and group selection processes. I distinguish individual- and population-centred approaches to drawing such a distinction, and I proceed to develop the latter. On the account I advance, the differences between kin and group selection are differences of degree in the structural properties of populations. A spatial metaphor (‘K…
11 Citations
Unexplained cooperation
- PsychologyEuropean Journal for Philosophy of Science
- 2021
Social evolution theory provides a wide array of successful evolutionary explanations for cooperative traits. However and surprisingly, a number of cases of unexplained cooperative behaviour remain.…
Explanatory goals and explanatory means in multilevel selection theory.
- PsychologyHistory and philosophy of the life sciences
- 2020
It is argued that keeping explanatory means and goals well apart allows us to see that, contrary to a popular recent idea, Price's equation and contextual analysis do not come with built-in notions of group selection and the efficacy of these methods at analyzing various kinds of cases does not constitute a basis for deciding how group selection should best be defined.
Ecological scaffolding and the evolution of individuality
- BiologyNature Ecology & Evolution
- 2020
Using mechanistic mathematical models, it is shown how a minimal ecological structure comprising patchily distributed resources and between-patch dispersal can scaffold Darwinian-like properties on collectives of cells and serves as an ecological recipe for experimental realization of evolutionary transitions.
Ecological scaffolding and the evolution of individuality: the transition from cells to multicellular life
- Biology
- 2019
Using mechanistic mathematical models, it is shown how a minimal ecological structure comprised of patchily distributed resources and between patch dispersal can scaffold Darwinian-like properties on collectives of cells and serves as an ecological recipe for experimental realisation of evolutionary transitions.
Social Interactions Among Bacteriophages
- Biology
- 2020
Key determinants of phage social evolution include genetic relatedness, spatial population structure, and frequency-dependent selection, among others.
Biocommunication of Phages
- Biology
- 2020
Diverse competences of phages show that they process and evaluate available information and then modify their behaviour accordingly, and that this capacity to evaluate information is possible owing to communication processes within phages, between phage species (intra-organismic), and between phages and non-phage organisms (trans Organismic).
Social evolution of innate immunity evasion in a virus
- BiologyNature Microbiology
- 2019
It is demonstrated that viral escape from interferon (IFN)-based innate immunity is a social process in which IFN-stimulating viruses determine the fitness of neighbouring viruses, and that IFN shutdown is costly because it reduces short-term viral progeny production, thus fulfilling the definition of an altruistic trait.
References
SHOWING 1-10 OF 80 REFERENCES
Varieties of Population Structure and the Levels of Selection
- SociologyThe British Journal for the Philosophy of Science
- 2008
Group-structured populations, of the kind prominent in discussions of multilevel selection, are contrasted with ‘neighbor-structured’ populations. I argue that it is a necessary condition on…
Natural selection. VII. History and interpretation of kin selection theory
- SociologyJournal of evolutionary biology
- 2013
The history of kin selection theory is described, with emphasis on how the causal perspective improved through the study of key patterns of natural history, such as dispersal and sex ratio, and through a unified approach to demographic and social processes.
The genetical theory of multilevel selection
- PsychologyJournal of evolutionary biology
- 2015
It is shown that taking a genetical approach facilitates a decomposition of group‐level traits – including reproductive success – into the separate contributions made by each constituent individual, even in the context of so‐called emergence.
Alternative formulations of multilevel selection
- Biology
- 1988
It is argued that the “effect hypothesis” of macroevolution, requiring, in selection among species, both the absence of group effects on organismic fitness (multilevel selection) and the direct determination of species fitnesses by those of organisms, is untestable with paleontological data.
Group Selection, Altruism, and Structured-Deme Models
- PsychologyThe American Naturalist
- 1985
Structured-deme models are a valuable tool for analyzing local interactions and the resulting neighborhood selection; it is important to note, however, that if a model incorporates isolated trait groups, then within-group comparisons are entirely inappropriate for evaluating the fate of genotypes.
The genetical theory of kin selection
- BiologyJournal of evolutionary biology
- 2011
Fisher's genetical paradigm is used to demonstrate the generality of Hamilton’s rule and to clarify links between different studies, and to emphasize the need to distinguish between general kin‐selection theory that forms the foundations of social evolution, and streamlined kin-selection methodology that isused to solve specific problems.
The Relation between Kin and Multilevel Selection: An Approach Using Causal Graphs
- MathematicsThe British Journal for the Philosophy of Science
- 2016
Kin selection and multilevel selection are alternative approaches for studying the evolution of social behaviour, the relation between which has long been a source of controversy. Many recent…
Group selection and kin selection: formally equivalent approaches.
- BiologyTrends in ecology & evolution
- 2011
A Method for Analyzing Selection in Hierarchically Structured Populations
- BiologyThe American Naturalist
- 1987
Individual fitness depends on the particular ecological, genetic, and social contexts in which organisms are found. Variation in individual context among subunits of a population thus raises…
Kin Selection and Its Critics
- Biology
- 2015
This overview of Hamilton's theory of kin selection highlights a number of conceptual issues that lie at the heart of the current debate, and considers the often-strained relationship between the theories of kin and multilevel selection.