Altruism, spite, and greenbeards.
Hamilton's theory of inclusive fitness showed how natural selection could lead to behaviors that decrease the relative fitness of the actor and also either benefit (altruism) or harm (spite) other individuals. However, several fundamental issues in the evolution of altruism and spite have remai...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
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2010
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| _version_ | 1797077209773506560 |
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| author | West, SA Gardner, A |
| author_facet | West, SA Gardner, A |
| author_sort | West, SA |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Hamilton's theory of inclusive fitness showed how natural selection could lead to behaviors that decrease the relative fitness of the actor and also either benefit (altruism) or harm (spite) other individuals. However, several fundamental issues in the evolution of altruism and spite have remained contentious. Here, we show how recent work has resolved three key debates, helping clarify how Hamilton's theoretical overview links to real-world examples, in organisms ranging from bacteria to humans: Is the evolution of extreme altruism, represented by the sterile workers of social insects, driven by genetics or ecology? Does spite really exist in nature? And, can altruism be favored between individuals who are not close kin but share a "greenbeard" gene for altruism? |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T00:14:38Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:7a64d0d0-b554-4b1b-b272-008a516a105e |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T00:14:38Z |
| publishDate | 2010 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:7a64d0d0-b554-4b1b-b272-008a516a105e2022-03-26T20:43:48ZAltruism, spite, and greenbeards.Journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:7a64d0d0-b554-4b1b-b272-008a516a105eEnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2010West, SAGardner, AHamilton's theory of inclusive fitness showed how natural selection could lead to behaviors that decrease the relative fitness of the actor and also either benefit (altruism) or harm (spite) other individuals. However, several fundamental issues in the evolution of altruism and spite have remained contentious. Here, we show how recent work has resolved three key debates, helping clarify how Hamilton's theoretical overview links to real-world examples, in organisms ranging from bacteria to humans: Is the evolution of extreme altruism, represented by the sterile workers of social insects, driven by genetics or ecology? Does spite really exist in nature? And, can altruism be favored between individuals who are not close kin but share a "greenbeard" gene for altruism? |
| spellingShingle | West, SA Gardner, A Altruism, spite, and greenbeards. |
| title | Altruism, spite, and greenbeards. |
| title_full | Altruism, spite, and greenbeards. |
| title_fullStr | Altruism, spite, and greenbeards. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Altruism, spite, and greenbeards. |
| title_short | Altruism, spite, and greenbeards. |
| title_sort | altruism spite and greenbeards |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT westsa altruismspiteandgreenbeards AT gardnera altruismspiteandgreenbeards |