Dynastic Theory: The Evolution of Altruism in Animal Societies (Replacing Kin Selection) (English Edition) [Kindle-editie] beoordelingen het boek quotes

Dynastic Theory refutes a central claim of sociobiology: that all organisms, including humans, are entirely selfish. In doing so, it replaces the theory of kin selection—and other gene-centered theories, including “group selection”—with an original, scientifically significant theory of the evolution of altruism in animal societies.As a theory of altruism, kin selection has failed. Kin selection’s most obvious flaw is the stark failure of its central prediction that individuals ought to bestow altruism according to the degree of Mendelian relatedness. They do not.Animal societies are widespread in nature, ranging from sophisticated insect colonies with complex divisions of labor, to groups of voles and bushbabies, which are organized primarily for the simple defense of a common territory. Within societies, social behaviors, including altruism, are prevalent. And field studies uniformly document that altruism is based on group membership, not degree of relatedness.Moreover, kin selection’s logic seems to be absurd on its face: for altruism to evolve requires leaps of benefits to costs of 2 to 1 (parent/offspring, siblings), 4 to 1 (aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces), 8 to 1 (cousins), ad infinitum. Kin selection’s claim that altruism evolves because animals selfishly propagate their own genes has perpetuated the falsehood that every aspect of life is selfish. This skews our perspective; instead of seeing cooperation in an insect colony or a wolf pack, kin selection sees selfish conflict everywhere—an ugly war of all against all.The promise of sociobiology was not just to explain the social behaviors of other species; it was to link the understanding of humans to our evolutionary roots. We’re animals. Our ancestors evolved through natural selection. If they were entirely selfish, so are we. The time is ripe for a simple, intelligible theory that explains the evolution of altruism and fits the actual behavioral patterns of social species—and for a book that lays it out. Dynastic theory explains adaptations at the level of the colony, pack, and tribe; it explains how traits that benefit animal societies, but are self-sacrificing at the level of the individual, have evolved. It is called “dynastic theory” after the way in which animal societies (other than humans) are structured—because societies are formed and maintained when offspring and further descendants remain with their parent(s), each is a family dynasty. By accounting for group altruism, dynastic theory has implications for the psychological origins of human group loyalties, which are discussed in the book’s conclusion.