Re: Darwin and Hamilton


<whitesickle@xxxxxxx> wrote in message news:dos4dh$oic$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> It is "clear to me" at least kin selection and biological altruism is
> indirectly tied to genocide. ...

> I understand kin selection and group selection are somewhat different.
> So the question is

> (a) Can kin selection/group selection under the
> right circumstances lead to genocide?

I would tend to say 'No' for kin selection. Kin selection only leads
to favoritism for very close relatives. But, for example, the relatedness
'r' between two random Hutu is only slightly less than the relatedness
between a Hutu and a Tutsi.

Group selection is another matter. Personally, I doubt that it can lead
to much of anything. But Hamilton and others have suggested that it
can be part of the explanation for xenophobia, warfare, and genocide.

> (b) Is genocide possible without kin selection/group selection

I would think so. People divide themselves into contesting groups
without reference to biological cues. Genocides have taken place
based on ideological, religious, and other differences. As you
point out, the 'genocide' conducted by the Khmer Rouge was not based
on ethnicity at all.

> (c) how is culture/religion tied up with kin selection/group selection

There is no necessary tie-in. Kin selection and group selection can
operate in organism with neither culture nor religion. In organisms
like man, I would say that culture and religion simply confuse the
operation of kin and group selection, rather than reinforcing them.

> (d) is kin selection/group selection still necessary in our evolution?
> Is it adaptive?

Meaningless questions. Kin selection and group selection are not things
that we 'chose' to do, like walking on two legs or losing our gills.
They are things that happen to us, like gravity. There is no way we
can turn them off or avoid them.


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Three roles of "the population".
    ... >> It occurs to me that some of the confusion regarding kin selection and ... >> group selection occurs because of a failure to distinguish the three ... the "competitive population" - why are you measuring allele frequencies ...
    (sci.bio.evolution)
  • Re: Article: Group selection, a theory whose time has come...again
    ... selection is a form of group selection, and it is possible to think of ... a group selection regime is going ... groups, and if altruism of members is a good thing, then that is what ... what is wrong with just saying there is just kin selection? ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Article: Group selection, a theory whose time has come...again
    ... West et al. argue that group selection is better approached as a variety ... Kin selection is no doubt a very powerful and important factor in ... the phenomenon of Nazism; was this a type of multilevel kin selection. ...
    (sci.bio.evolution)