Abstract
Unto Others (Sober and Wilson 1998) shows how the general principles of Multi-Level Selection (MLS) theory apply to selection at multiple levels of the biological hierarchy. It also argues for the existence of "genuine" evolutionary and psychological altruism. The authors’ views on altruism do not follow logically from principles of MLS, and their failure do disentangle these two themes undermines their otherwise excellent presentation of MLS theory. Rebuttal of the view that human nature is completely selfish depends not on the prevalence of altruism but on the importance of group-advantageous traits that benefit both self and other group members without necessarily inflicting direct costs on outsiders.
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Barbara Smuts has degrees in social anthropology and behavioral biology and is a professor in the psychology and anthropology departments at the University of Michigan. She has studied social relations among wild baboons, chimpanzees, and bottlenose dolphins and is the author of Sex and Friendship in Baboons and an editor of Primate Societies. Her current interests include analysis of videotaped social interactions among wild baboons, computer simulation modeling of multilevel selection, and the evolution and behavior of wild and domestic dogs.
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Smuts, B. Multilevel selection, cooperation, and altruism. Hum Nat 10, 311–327 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-999-1006-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-999-1006-9