“Altruism: a saga”

Abstract

Recently, a number of prominent evolutionary biologists have contested the theory of kin selection and have in turn been strongly challenged by the majority of their colleagues. The heated nature of the argument over the role of kin and group selection in the evolution of altruism is a testament to the ways in which vested interests and intellectual territory disputes play out in scientific proceedings. However, a closer look at the history of attempts to understand the evolution of altruism, going back to Darwin, suggests that something more than mere academic sword-fighting is going on. There is a long history of social and biological thought intermingling and influencing each other when it comes to the study of social behavior. A consideration of this history, alongside a consideration of possible significant parallels in the evolution of sociality in nature and in man, may help to make better sense of why an entire community is up in arms about ants.