Causal-explanatory reductionism II: The metaphysics of the selfish gene

1984 ◽  
pp. 139-175
Author(s):  
Joseph Wayne Smith
Keyword(s):  
Selfish Gene

scholarly journals Nonlinear sociodynamics of competitive sociotypes of molecular and cosmic human

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrey Vitalievich Kolesnikov
Keyword(s):  
Social System ◽  
Dimensional Model ◽  
Selfish Gene ◽  
Behavioral Determinants ◽  
Gene Replication ◽  
The Social ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Mathematical Model ◽  
Total Resource ◽  
Aggregate Resource

As one of the most important factors determining the nature of the dynamic behavior of a social system, the article considers the competitive relationship of two alternative sociotypes, conventionally designated as molecular human and cosmic human. The molecular sociotype is understood as the personality of the average consumer, whose behavioral determinants are largely determined by the selfish gene. The cosmic human is a person who has realized the dependence on the selfish gene. Representatives of the cosmic sociotype consider the products of their own mind, their contribution to culture, as a more significant function than gene replication. This explains the different values ​​of the coefficients of reproduction of the total resource of the system by molecular human and cosmic human. Three possible scenarios for the evolution of a social system have been identified for different values ​​of the coefficients of reproduction of the total resource of the system by both sociotypes with a constant share of the population. In this case, the aggregate resource is understood as the entire intellectual, cultural and economic product produced by the social system during a certain conditional cycle of reproduction. The dynamics of a social system with a variable value of the share of a productive comic sociotype is considered in the work on the basis of a nonlinear two-dimensional model. The mathematical model demonstrates complex nonlinear quasicyclic behavior.

scholarly journals How Hungry is the Selfish Gene?

10.3386/w7401 ◽  
1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Case ◽  
I-Fen Lin ◽  
Sara McLanahan
Keyword(s):  
Selfish Gene

Sharing Values with a Selfish Gene

2010 ◽  
pp. 67-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Goggin
Keyword(s):  
Selfish Gene ◽  
Sharing Values

Historical Origins

2021 ◽  
pp. 11-45
Author(s):  
J. Arvid Ågren
Keyword(s):  
Population Genetics ◽  
Group Selection ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Natural Theology ◽  
Living World ◽  
Selfish Gene ◽  
Theory Of Evolution ◽  
The Third ◽  
Historical Origins ◽  
The Way

This chapter traces the origins of the gene’s-eye view through three sections of evolutionary biology. The first is adaptationism, the tradition that takes the appearance of design in living world to be the cardinal problem a theory of evolution needs to explain. The chapter shows how this view has been especially prominent in British biology, owing the strong standing of natural theology and the writings of William Paley. The second is the emergence of population genetics during the modern synthesis. Here, the work of R.A. Fisher was particularly important. The third and final section was the levels selection debate and the rejection of group selection. G.C. Williams led the way the way and the origin of the gene’s-eye view culminated with the publication of The Selfish Gene.

‘Morals can not be drawn from facts but guidance may be’: the early life of W.D. Hamilton's theory of inclusive fitness

2015 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 543-563 ◽  
Author(s):  
SARAH A. SWENSON
Keyword(s):  
Social Order ◽  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Political ◽  
Selfish Gene ◽  
New Synthesis ◽  
Sociopolitical Context ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
New Social Order

AbstractW.D. Hamilton's theory of inclusive fitness saw the evolution of altruism from the point of view of the gene. It was at heart a theory of limits, redefining altruistic behaviours as ultimately selfish. This theory inspired two controversial texts published almost in tandem, E.O. Wilson's Sociobiology: The New Synthesis (1975) and Richard Dawkins's The Selfish Gene (1976). When Wilson and Dawkins were attacked for their evolutionary interpretations of human societies, they claimed a distinction between reporting what is and declaring what ought to be. Can the history of sociobiological theories be so easily separated from its sociopolitical context? This paper draws upon unpublished materials from the 1960s and early 1970s and documents some of the ways in which Hamilton saw his research as contributing to contemporary concerns. It pays special attention to the 1969 Man and Beast Smithsonian Institution symposium in order to explore the extent to which Hamilton intended his theory to be merely descriptive versus prescriptive. From this, we may see that Hamilton was deeply concerned about the political chaos he perceived in the world around him, and hoped to arrive at a level of self-understanding through science that could inform a new social order.

scholarly journals A parasitic selfish gene that affects host promiscuity

2013 ◽  
Vol 280 (1770) ◽  
pp. 20131875 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulina Giraldo-Perez ◽  
Matthew R. Goddard
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Molecular Genetics ◽  
Sexual Behaviour ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Homing Endonuclease ◽  
Mendelian Inheritance ◽  
Selfish Gene ◽  
Selfish Genes ◽  
Selfish Element ◽  
Host Behaviour

Selfish genes demonstrate transmission bias and invade sexual populations despite conferring no benefit to their hosts. While the molecular genetics and evolutionary dynamics of selfish genes are reasonably well characterized, their effects on hosts are not. Homing endonuclease genes (HEGs) are one well-studied family of selfish genes that are assumed to be benign. However, we show that carrying HEGs is costly for Saccharomyces cerevisiae , demonstrating that these genetic elements are not necessarily benign but maybe parasitic. We estimate a selective load of approximately 1–2% in ‘natural’ niches. The second aspect we examine is the ability of HEGs to affect hosts' sexual behaviour. As all selfish genes critically rely on sex for spread, then any selfish gene correlated with increased host sexuality will enjoy a transmission advantage. While classic parasites are known to manipulate host behaviour, we are not aware of any evidence showing a selfish gene is capable of affecting host promiscuity. The data presented here show a selfish element may increase the propensity of its eukaryote host to undergo sex and along with increased rates of non-Mendelian inheritance, this may counterbalance mitotic selective load and promote spread. Demonstration that selfish genes are correlated with increased promiscuity in eukaryotes connects with ideas suggesting that selfish genes promoted the evolution of sex initially.

scholarly journals In retrospect: The Selfish Gene

Nature ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 529 (7587) ◽  
pp. 462-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matt Ridley
Keyword(s):  
Selfish Gene
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