Altruism As Related To Evol. Biology
Submitted by on January 1, 1998
Category: Science
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"Altruism and It's Relationship to Evolutionary Biology"
There are two separate ways of thinking concerning altruism and it's relationship to evolutionary biology. One is the belief that altruism is a big part of society as a whole and it is the best way to promote survive of a population as a whole. Darwin, in The Descent of Man, says that sometimes a member of a group may act selflessly as long as it works out in the long term for the group as a whole (Darwin). This is the theory that I believe to be more acceptable, but I will outline those reasons once I talk about the opposing point of view.
This theory was reputed by many, including George C. Williams of the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He believed that "selection at the level of the group was insignificant when compared with individual selection (Lewin 1996). Many conservatives and...