Hostname: page-component-74656f9884-2dmjx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-11-09T22:29:55.127Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Genier than thou

Review products

Commentary onDavid SloanWilson and ElliottSober (1994). Reintroducing group selection to the human behavioral sciences. BBS 17:585–654

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 February 2010

Mike Waller
Mike Waller
Affiliation:
Glenclyne, Brook Lane, Cropthorne, Pershore, Worcestershire, WR10 3JX, United Kingdom, mwaller@comparator.win-uk.net
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Many neo-Darwinists treat natural selection of genes and individual organisms as broadly equivalent. This enables Wilson & Sober (W&S) to propose a multilevel group selection model by drawing parallels between individuals and groups. The notion of gene/individual equivalence is a profound misconception. Its elimination negates W&S's current approach but offers the best way forward for both life and behavioural sciences.

Information

Type
Continuing Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 19 , Issue 4 , December 1996 , pp. 781 - 782
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Adorno, T. W., Frenki-Brunswik, E., Levinson, D. J. & Sanford, R. N. (1950) The authoritarian personality. Harper and Row. [SVDW]Google Scholar
Altemeyer, R. (1981) Right-wing authoritarianism. University of Manitoba Press. [SVDW]Google Scholar
Altemeyer, R. (1988) Enemies of freedom: Understanding right-wing authoritarianism. Jossey-Bass. [SVDW]Google Scholar
Bergson, H. (1935) The two sources of morality and religion. Doubleday. [JB]Google Scholar
Blurton, Jones N. (1987) Tolerated theft: Suggestions about the ecology and evolution of sharing, hoarding and scrounging. Social Science Information 26:31–54. [DSW]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boehm, C. (1981) Parasitic selection and group selection: A study of conflict interference in rhesus and Japanese macaque monkeys. In: Primate behavior and sociobiology, ed. Chiarelli, A. B. & Corruccini, R. S.. Springer-Verlag. [DSW]Google Scholar
Boehm, C. (1993) Egalitarian behavior and reverse dominance hierarchy. Current Anthropology 34:227–54. [DSW]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boehm, C. (in press a) Emergency decisions, cultural selection mechanics, and group selection. Current Anthropology. [DSW]Google Scholar
Boehm, C. (in press b) Egalitarian behavior and the evolution of political intelligence. In: Machiavellian intelligence, ed. Byrne, R. W. & Whiten, A.. Clarendon. [DSW]Google Scholar
Boyd, R. & Richerson, P. J. (1985) Culture and the evolutionary process. University of Chicago Press. [DSW]Google Scholar
Boyd, R. & Richerson, P. J. (1990) Group selection among alternative evolutionarily stable strategies. Journal of Theoretical Biology 145:331–42. [DSW, DJ]CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boyd, R. & Richerson, P. J. (1992) Punishment allows the evolution of cooperation (or anything else) in sizeable groups. Ethology and Sociobiology 13:171–95. [DSW]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bull, J. J. (1994) Perspective: Virulence. Evolution 48:1423–37. [DSW]Google ScholarPubMed
Campbell, D. T. (1975) On the conflicts between biological and social evolution and between psychology and moral tradition. American Psychologist 30:1103–26. (JB])CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, D. T. (1991) A naturalistic theory of archaic moral orders. Zygon 26:91–114. [JB]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chagnon, N. (1992) Yanomamo, 4th ed.Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. [CTP]Google Scholar
Cronin, H. (1991) The ant and the peacock: Altruism and sexual selection from Darwin to today. Cambridge University Press. [DSW]Google Scholar
Dawkins, R. (1982) The extended phenotype. Oxford University Press. [DSW]Google Scholar
Dawkins, R. (1989) The selfish gene, 2d ed.Oxford University Press. [MW]Google Scholar
Doty, R. M., Peterson, B. E. & Winter, D. G. (1991) Threat and authoritarianism in the United States, 1978–1987. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 61:629–40. [SVDW]CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Duckitt, J. (1989) Authoritarianism and group identification: A new view of an old construct. Political Psychology 10:63–84. [SVDW]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Durkheim, E. (1915/1965) The elementary forms of religious life. Free Press. [JB]Google Scholar
Evans-Pritchard, E. E. (1965) Theories of primitive religion. Oxford University Press. [CTP]Google Scholar
Ewald, P. (1994) Evolution of infections disease. Oxford University Press. [DSW]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferraro, G. (1992) Cultural anthropology: An applied perspective. West. [CTP]Google Scholar
Frank, S. A. (1995) George Price's contributions to evolutionary genetics. Journal of Theoretical Biology 75:373–88. [DSW]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frank, S. A. (1996) Models of parasite virulence. Quarterly Review of Biology 71:37–78. [DSW]CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fried, M. H. (1975) The notion of tribe. Cummings. [CTP]Google Scholar
Goodnight, C. J., Schwartz, J. M. & Stevens, L. (1992) Contextual analysis of models of group selection, soft selection, hard selection, and the evolution of altruism. American Naturalist 140:743–61. [DSW]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodnight, K. F. (1992) The effect of stochastic variation on kin selection in a budding-viscous population. American Naturalist 140:1028–40. [DSW]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grafen, A. (1984) Natural selection, kin selection and group selection. In: Behavioural ecology: An evolutionary approach, ed. Krebs, J. & Davies, N.. Blackwell. [DSW]Google Scholar
Guralnick, B. B., ed. (1979) Webster's new world dictionary. Fawcett. [CTP]Google Scholar
Haldane, J. B. S. (1932) The causes of evolution. Longmans Green. [DSW]Google Scholar
Hamilton, W. D. (1963) The evolution of altruistic behavior. American Naturalist 97:354–56. [DSW]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hamilton, W. D. (1964) The genetical evolution of social behaviour, parts 1 and 2. Journal of Theoretical Biology 7:1–16, 17–52. [MW]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hamilton, W. D. (1975) Innate social aptitudes in man, an approach from evolutionary genetics. In: Biosocial anthropology, ed. Fox, R.. Malaby Press. [DSW]Google Scholar
Hamilton, W. D. (1987) Discriminating nepotism: Expectable, common, overlooked. In: Kin recognition in animals, ed. Fletcher, D. J. C. & Michener, C. D.. Wiley. [DSW]Google Scholar
Harnad, S., ed. (1987) Categorical perception. Cambridge University Press. [CTP]Google Scholar
Harris, M. (1979) Cultural materialism: The struggle for a science of culture. Random House. [JB]Google Scholar
Heaven, P. C. L. (1986) Authoritarianism, directiveness, and self-esteem revisited: A cross-cultural analysis. Personality and Individual Differences 7:225–28. [SVDW]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heisler, I. L. & Damuth, J. (1987) A method of analyzing selection in hierarchically structured populations. American Naturalist 130:582–602. [DSW]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jurmain, R., Nelson, H. & Kilgore, L. (1995) Essentials of physical anthropology, 2d ed.West. [CTP]Google Scholar
Kelly, R. C. (1985) The Nuer conquest: A case study in the structure of non-equilibrium systems. University of Michigan Press. [DSW]Google Scholar
Knauft, B. M. (1985) Good company and violence: Sorcery and social action in a lowland New Guinea society. University of California Press. [DSW]Google Scholar
Knauft, B. M. (1994) Culture and cooperation in human evolution. In: The anthropology of peace and nonviolence, ed. Sponsel, L. E. & Gregor, T.. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner. [DSW]Google Scholar
Knauft, B. M. (1996) The hunman evolution of cooperative interest. In: Perspective on peace, ed. Gregor, T.. Vanderbilt University Press. [DSW]Google Scholar
Kuhn, T. S. (1970) The structure of scientific revolutions, 2d ed.University of Chicago Press. [DSW]Google Scholar
Lee, R. B. & DeVore, I. (1968) Man the hunter. Aldine. [CTP]Google Scholar
Levin, B. R. & Kilmer, W. C. (1974) Interdemic selection and the evolution of altruism: A computer simulation study. Evolution 28:527–45. [DSW]CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lewontin, R. & Dunn, L. (1960) The evolutionary dynamics of a polymorphism in the house mouse. Genetics 45:705–22. [MW]CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Macdonald, K. (1994) Group evolutionary strategies: Dimensions and mechanisms. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 17:629–30. [JB]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Malkin, C. M. & Lamb, M. E. (1994) Child maltreatment: A test of sociobiological theory. Journal of Comparative Family Studies 25:121–34. [MEL]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matson, W. (1993) The pious gene. In: Self, cosmos, God, ed. Kolak, D. & Martin, R.. Harcourt, Rinehart and Winston. [JB]Google Scholar
McFarland, S. G., Ageyev, V. S. & Abalakina-Paap, M. A. (1992) Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 63:1004–10. [SVDW]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meloen, J. D., Hagendoorn, L, Raaijmakers, Q. & Visser, L. (1988) Authoritarianism and the revival of political racism: Reassessments in the Netherlands of the reliability and validity of the concept of authoritarianism by Adorno, et al. Political Psychology 9:413–29. [SVDW]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ridley, M. (1993) Is sex good for anything? New Scientist 12 4, 36–40. [MW]Google Scholar
Ross, M. H. (1986) A cross-cultural theory of political conflict and violence. Political Psychology 7:427–69. [SVDW]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, G. F. (1994) Beyond shared fate: Group-selected mechanisms for cooperation and competition in fuzzy, fluid vehicles. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 17:630–31. [JB]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mol, H. (1976) Identity and the sacred: A sketch for a new social-scientific theory of religion. The Book Society of Canada Limited. [JB]Google Scholar
Moore, J. (1994) Hominids, coalitions, and weapons: Not vehicles. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 17:632. [JB]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murdock, G. P. (1972) Anthropology's mythology. Proceedings of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 1971. [CTP]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nelson, H. & Jurmain, R. (1988) Introduction to physical anthropology, 4th ed.West. [CTP]Google Scholar
Nesse, R. M. (1994) Why is group selection such a problem? Behavioral and Brain Sciences 17:633–34. [JB]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nunney, L. (1985) Female-biased sex ratios: Individual or group selection? Evolution 39(2):349–61. [DSW]CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rappaport, R. A. (1971) The sacred in human evolution. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 2:23–44. [JB]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Price, G. R. (1970) Selection and covariance. Nature 277:520–21. [DSW]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Price, G. R. (1972) Extension of covariance selection mathematics. Annals of Human Genetics 35:485–90. [DSW]CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sales, S. M. (1973) Threat as a factor in authoritarianism: An analysis of archival data. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 28:44–57. [SVDW]CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Silberbaur, G. B. (1982) Political process in G/wi bands. In: Politics and history in hand society, ed. Leacock, E. B. & Lee, B.. Cambridge University Press. [CTP]Google Scholar
Sober, E. (1993) Philosophy of biology. Oxford University Press. [MW]Google Scholar
Sober, E. & Wilson, D. S. (1997) Unto others: The evolution of altruism. Harvard University Press. [DSW]Google Scholar
Soltis, J., Boyd, T. & Richerson, P. J. (1995) Can group-functional behaviors evolve by cultural group selection: An empirical test. Current Anthropology 36(3):473–94. [CTP]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simon, H. A. (1990) A mechanism for social selection and successful altruism. Nature 250:1665–68. [JB]Google ScholarPubMed
Simpson, J. A. (1994) Adaptation and natural selection: A new look at some old ideas. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 17:634–36. [JB]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stein, A. A. (1976) Conflict and cohesion: A review of the literature. Journal of Conflict Resolution 20:143–65. [SVDW]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turnbull, C. M. (1961) The forest people. Natural History Press. [DSW]Google Scholar
Waller, M. J. C. (1995) Darwinism ami the enemy within. Journal of Social and Evolutionary Systems 18(3):217–29. [MW]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, G. C. (1966) Adaptation and natural selection: A critique of some current evolutionary thought. Princeton University Press. [MW, DSW]Google Scholar
Williams, G. C. (1986) A defence of reductionism in evolutionary biology. In: Oxford surveys in evolutionary biology, ed. Dawkins, R. A. M. R.. Oxford University Press. [DSW]Google Scholar
Williams, G. C. (1992) Natural selection: Domains, levels and challenges. Oxford Univeristy Press. [DSW]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, G. C & Williams, D. C. (1957) Natural selection of individually harmful social adaptations among sibs with special reference to social insects. Evolution 11:32–39. [DSW]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, D. S. (1975) A theory of group selection. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 72:143–46. [DSW]CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wilson, D. S. (1997) Incorporating group selection into the adaptationist program: A case study involving human decision making. In: Evolutionary social psychology, ed. Simpson, J. & Kendrick, D.. Erlbaum. [DSW]Google Scholar
Wilson, D. S. & Dugatkin, L. A. (in press) Group selection and assortative interactions. American Naturalist. [DSW]Google Scholar
Wilson, D. S. & Sober, E. (1994) Reintroducing group selection to the human behavioral sciences. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 17:585–654. [JB, DJ, MEL, DSW]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, E. O. (1978) On human nature. Harvard University Press. [JB, CTP, SVDW]Google ScholarPubMed
Wright, S. (1945) Tempo and mode in evolution: A critical review. Ecology 26:415–19. [DSW]CrossRefGoogle Scholar