In this paper, I contrast two mathematically equivalent ways of modeling the evolution of altruism, namely the classical inclusive fitness approach and a more recent, “direct fitness” approach. Though both are usually considered by evolutionists as mere different ways of representing the same causal process (i.e. that of kin selection), I argue that this consensus is misleading, for there is a fundamental ambiguity concerning the causal interpretation of the DF approach. Drawing on an analogy between the structure of inclusive fitness theory and that of causal decision theory (Stalnaker, 1972), I show that only the inclusive fitness framework can provide us with a proper, and unambiguous causal partition of the relevant variables involved in the evolution of altruism.
...MoreSimilar Citations
Article
Armin W. Schulz;
(2016)
Altruism, egoism, or neither: A cognitive-efficiency-based evolutionary biological perspective on helping behavior
Article
Schulz, Armin;
(2013)
Exaptation, Adaptation, and Evolutionary Psychology
Book
Dugatkin, Lee Alan;
(2011)
The Prince of Evolution: Peter Kropotkin's Adventures in Science and Politics
Article
Cédric Paternotte;
(2020)
Social evolution and the individual-as-maximising-agent analogy
Article
Borrello, Mark E.;
(2003)
Synthesis and Selection: Wynne-Edwards' Challenge to David Lack
Book
Gintis, Herbert;
(2009)
The Bounds of Reason: Game Theory and the Unification of the Behavioral Sciences
Article
Jonathan Birch;
(2019)
Altruistic deception
Article
Gildenhuys, Peter;
(2003)
The Evolution of Altruism: The Sober/Wilson Model
Article
Wilson, Edward O.;
(2005)
Kin Selection as the Key to Altruism: Its Rise and Fall
Book
Borrello, Mark E.;
(2010)
Evolutionary Restraints: The Contentious History of Group Selection
Article
Stephen Stich;
(2016)
Why there might not be an evolutionary explanation for psychological altruism
Article
Christine Clavien;
Michel Chapuisat;
(2016)
The evolution of utility functions and psychological altruism
Article
Depew, David J.;
(2011)
Adaptation as Process: The Future of Darwinism and the Legacy of Theodosius Dobzhansky
Article
Brian McLoone;
(2020)
Population and organismal perspectives on trait origins
Article
Tattersall, Ian;
(2001)
Evolution, Genes, and Behavior
Article
Schulz, Armin;
(2013)
Exaptation, Adaptation, and Evolutionary Psychology
Book
Brown, Gillian R.;
Kevin N. Laland;
(2011)
Sense and Nonsense: Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Behaviour
Article
Aja Watkins;
(2021)
Multi-model approaches to phylogenetics: Implications for idealization
Article
Wilson, Robert A.;
(2004)
Test Cases, Resolvability, and Group Selection: A Critical Examination of the Myxoma Case
Article
Shavit, Ayelet;
(2004)
Shifting Values Partly Explain the Debate over Group Selection
Be the first to comment!