factual
Group selection refuted for altruism but not for all traits
John Maynard Smith's game-theoretic models showed it is hard to get group selection for altruism to work, but the literature wrongly generalized this to conclude group selection is unimportant for everything; the correct conclusion is only that group selection probably is not the main explanation of altruism, not that it is unimportant for explaining other traits.
factualpending
Speaker
Cailin O'ConnorEvidence Quote
“people have shown group selection probably isn't the most important explanation of altruism, but that doesn't show that group selection isn't important for the explanation of other kinds of traits”
Source
113 | Cailin O'Connor on Game Theory, Evolution, and the Origins of Unfairness— Sean Carroll's MindscapeCreated: 6/13/2026, 12:26:23 AM
My Notes
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