Re: Fw: Edward O. Wilson's "bombshell" on the reality of group selection

On 2006-06-16, William Morse <wdmorse@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Anthony Campbell <ac@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
news:e6s9dh$1ve2$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:

Not much of a bombshell, really. According to Ullica Segerstale in
"Richard Dawkins: How a scientist changed the way we think", edited by
Alan Green and Mark Ridley, 2006, this has been Wilson's position from
the time he published "Sociobiology" in 1975.

"... in his book Wilson is *not* promoting a move away from
1960s 'good for the species' group selection in favor of
selectionist thinking: he is, if anything, doing the reverse!"

Segerstale goes on to say that Wilson attaches not very much
importance to George Williams (because he is not sufficiently group
selectionist), to Robert Trivers, or to John Maynard Smith. All these
authors are cited prominently by Dawkins in "The Selfish Gene",
publshed shortly after "Sociobiology".

Segerstale's essay is worth reading for anyone interested in the
differences between Wilson's and Dawkins's views.


It is true that Wilson looks quite favorably on a number of group
selectionist arguments in Sociobiology. But I have to note (not having read
Segerstale) the following from the Acknowledgements in Sociobiology:
" I am especially grateful to Robert L. Trivers for reading most of the
book and discussing it with me from the time of its conception".


Segerstrale's exact comment is as follows:

"How does Wilson treat Robert Trivers? Trivers' ideas get fair
coverage: in their own right, however, rather than as
harbingers of a new way of thinking. Trivers' important new
concept of a new way of thinking. Trivers' important new
concept of reciprocal altruism appears in Wilson's Chapter 5.
But Trivers' other core ideas of parental investment and
parent-offspring conflict appear well after page 300 in
*Sociobiology*.

Sorry for misspelling Segerstrale's name in my first post, BTW.

Anthony Campbell

--
Anthony Campbell - ac@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Microsoft-free zone - Using Linux Gnu-Debian
http://www.acampbell.org.uk (blog, book reviews,
on-line books and sceptical articles)


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