Abstract
The view that humans are motivated by altruistic considerations, and not just self interest, has witnessed a revival in the social sciences. A number of researchers have further claimed that there is a gene for altruism. A partial list includes: Sober and Wilson (1998), Peck (2004), Traulsen and Nowak (2006), Fowler et al. (2008b) and others. The claim has arisen both in biology and social science. I will focus upon Sober and Wilson’s (1998) analysis of group selection that produces a gene for altruism, because it is recognized as the most comprehensive and cogent of the defenses of group selection.
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© 2015 Richard Jankowski
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Jankowski, R. (2015). A Gene for Altruism?. In: Altruism and Self-Interest in Democracies. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137391537_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137391537_6
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-68049-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-39153-7
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