Group selection and inclusive fitness are not equivalent; the Price equation vs. models and statistics

Veelen, Matthijs van; García, Julián; Sabelis, Maurice W.; Egas, Martijn

doi:10.1016/j.jtbi.2011.07.025

Cited by 68 publications

(77 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…The use of statistical terminology in this manner is potentially confusing (26,27), but widespread in the literature on inclusive fitness (3-5, 21, 22, 25). Taking the population covariance of w with g and substituting from Eq.…”

Section: Regression Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Limitations of inclusive fitness

Allen

Nowak

Wilson

2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

101

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Until recently, inclusive fitness has been widely accepted as a general method to explain the evolution of social behavior. Affirming and expanding earlier criticism, we demonstrate that inclusive fitness is instead a limited concept, which exists only for a small subset of evolutionary processes. Inclusive fitness assumes that personal fitness is the sum of additive components caused by individual actions. This assumption does not hold for the majority of evolutionary processes or scenarios. To sidestep this limitation, inclusive fitness theorists have proposed a method using linear regression. On the basis of this method, it is claimed that inclusive fitness theory (i) predicts the direction of allele frequency changes, (ii) reveals the reasons for these changes, (iii) is as general as natural selection, and (iv) provides a universal design principle for evolution. In this paper we evaluate these claims, and show that all of them are unfounded. If the objective is to analyze whether mutations that modify social behavior are favored or opposed by natural selection, then no aspect of inclusive fitness theory is needed.social evolution | Hamilton's rule | cooperation | kin selection

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Section: Regression Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Limitations of inclusive fitness

Allen

Nowak

Wilson

2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

101

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“…( parochial) altruism. It is an important task for future research to analyse the interplay of the characteristics of models including intergroup conflict, the resulting equilibria and evolutionary dynamics more closely (see also [13,[15][16][17]). …”

Section: A Brief Overview Of Current Theories Of Parochial Altruismmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolutionary interplay of intergroup conflict and altruism in humans: a review of parochial altruism theory and prospects for its extension

Rusch¹

2014

Proc. R. Soc. B.

148

126

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Drawing on an idea proposed by Darwin, it has recently been hypothesized that violent intergroup conflict might have played a substantial role in the evolution of human cooperativeness and altruism. The central notion of this argument, dubbed 'parochial altruism', is that the two genetic or cultural traits, aggressiveness against the out-groups and cooperativeness towards the in-group, including self-sacrificial altruistic behaviour, might have coevolved in humans. This review assesses the explanatory power of current theories of 'parochial altruism'. After a brief synopsis of the existing literature, two pitfalls in the interpretation of the most widely used models are discussed: potential direct benefits and high relatedness between group members implicitly induced by assumptions about conflict structure and frequency. Then, a number of simplifying assumptions made in the construction of these models are pointed out which currently limit their explanatory power. Next, relevant empirical evidence from several disciplines which could guide future theoretical extensions is reviewed. Finally, selected alternative accounts of evolutionary links between intergroup conflict and intragroup cooperation are briefly discussed which could be integrated with parochial altruism in the future.

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“…Nevertheless, this equation has been involved in a great dispute the last decade due to its special nature, after a long period of oblivion when it was used by very few researchers. Some authors (van Veelen 2005, van Veelen et al 2012, Nowak and Highfield 2011 claim that Price's equation is not more than an identity and, therefore, is not even a model, so that its scope and power should be significantly reduced. On the other hand, a large number of researchers (see section 4) have been using the Price equation in their theoretical and empirical work, developing models and analysing empirical data through it.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

One equation to rule them all: a philosophical analysis of the Price equation

Luque

2016

Biol Philos

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This paper provides a philosophical analysis of the Price equation and its role in evolutionary theory. Traditional models in population genetics postulate simplifying assumptions in order to make the models mathematically tractable. On the contrary, the Price equation implies a very specific way of theorizing, starting with assumptions that we think are true and then deriving from them the mathematical rules of the system. I argue that the Price equation is a generalization-sketch, whose main purpose is to provide a unifying framework for researchers, helping them to develop specific models. The Price equation plays this role because, like other scientific principles, shows features as abstractness, unification and invariance. By underwriting this special role for the Price equation some recent disputes about it and other evolutionary equations could be diverted. This move also links Price's equation with Newton's second law of motion, and therefore vindicates the Newtonian analogy.

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Group selection and inclusive fitness are not equivalent; the Price equation vs. models and statistics

Cited by 68 publications

References 39 publications

Limitations of inclusive fitness

Limitations of inclusive fitness

The evolutionary interplay of intergroup conflict and altruism in humans: a review of parochial altruism theory and prospects for its extension

One equation to rule them all: a philosophical analysis of the Price equation

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