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Why multilevel selection matters

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  • Alexander Field

Abstract

In spite of its checkered intellectual history, and in spite of the myriad proposals of alternative models that claim to account for the broad range of human behavior and to dispense with the need for selection above the organism level, a multilevel selection framework remains the only coherent means of accounting for the persistence and spread of behavioral inclinations which, at least upon first appearance at low frequency, would have been biologically altruistic. This argument is advanced on three tracks: through a review of experimental and observational evidence inconsistent with a narrow version of rational choice theory, through a critique of models or explanations purporting to account for prosocial behavior through other means, and via elaboration of the mechanisms, plausibility, and intellectual history of group selection.
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Suggested Citation

  • Alexander Field, 2008. "Why multilevel selection matters," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 10(3), pages 203-238, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbioec:v:10:y:2008:i:3:p:203-238
    DOI: 10.1007/s10818-007-9018-1
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Janet Landa, 2008. "The bioeconomics of homogeneous middleman groups as adaptive units: Theory and empirical evidence viewed from a group selection framework," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 10(3), pages 259-278, December.
    2. John Hartwick, 2010. "Encephalization and division of labor by early humans," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 77-100, July.
    3. Janet Landa, 2009. "Homogeneous middleman groups as superorganisms, endogamous ethnic groups, and trust networks: Reply to comments on Janet Landa’s target article, ‘The bioeconomics of homogeneous middleman groups as ad," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 11(2), pages 191-199, August.
    4. Alexander J. Field, 2014. "Schelling, von Neumann, and the Event that Didn’t Occur," Games, MDPI, vol. 5(1), pages 1-37, February.
    5. David Wilson, 2009. "Convergent cultural evolution and multilevel selection: Reply to comments on Janet Landa’s ‘The bioeconomics of homogenous middleman groups as adaptive units: Theory and empirical evidence viewed from," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 11(2), pages 185-190, August.
    6. Alexander Field, 2008. "Biological and cultural group selection: Comments on Janet Landa’s paper," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 10(3), pages 287-290, December.
    7. van den Bergh, Jeroen C.J.M. & Gowdy, John M., 2009. "A group selection perspective on economic behavior, institutions and organizations," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 72(1), pages 1-20, October.
    8. Alexander Field, 2014. "Prosociality and the military," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 129-154, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Group selection; Evolutionary theory; Behavioral sciences; C72; DO1; D64; D87; Z13;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C72 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Noncooperative Games
    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
    • D87 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Neuroeconomics
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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