David Sloan Wilson on Richard Dawkins on E.O. Wilson

The Huffington Post David Sloan Wilson blog “Richard Dawkins, Edward O. Wilson, and the Consensus of the Many”

This is a very clear articulation of the history of multilevel selection. If only all biologists (in particular those who do not work in areas investigating altruistic behavior) could be compelled to read this; a lot of stupid close-mindedness might be obliterated.

I really like the manner in which DS Wilson explains the meaning of r (the coefficient of relatedness) here, and how he clarifies the relationship between George Price’s model of multilevel selection and Bill Hamilton’s inclusive fitness theory. There’s really more hype than reality when it comes to the ‘kin versus group selection’ controversy. I love that DS Wilson is suggesting that both Dawkins and EO Wilson are behind the times: this is correct, and it seems as though the public has a really hard time turning to other (less extreme) sociobiologists when it comes to explaining altruism.