Gould talking past Dawkins on the unit of selection issue

Istvan, Michael Anthony

doi:10.1016/j.shpsc.2013.05.020

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 7 publications

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“…Aggregate formation may represent a step toward the creation of a new level of selection. Defining a level of selection is not without controversy (Istvan Jr 2013), but in general a unit of selection is accepted as a biological level of organization upon which natural selection acts (Hull 2001;Okasha 2006;Wade et al 2010). Aggregates meet this definition, because after vortexing, large fragments of the aggregate either survive or perish as a unit.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of altruistic cooperation among nascent multicellular organisms

Herron

2019

Evolution

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Cooperation is a classic solution to hostile environments that limit individual survival. In extreme cases this may lead to the evolution of new types of biological individuals (e.g., eusocial super‐organisms). We examined the potential for interindividual cooperation to evolve via experimental evolution, challenging nascent multicellular “snowflake yeast” with an environment in which solitary multicellular clusters experienced low survival. In response, snowflake yeast evolved to form cooperative groups composed of thousands of multicellular clusters that typically survive selection. Group formation occurred through the creation of protein aggregates, only arising in strains with high (>2%) rates of cell death. Nonetheless, it was adaptive and repeatable, although ultimately evolutionarily unstable. Extracellular protein aggregates act as a common good, as they can be exploited by cheats that do not contribute to aggregate production. These results highlight the importance of group formation as a mechanism for surviving environmental stress, and underscore the remarkable ease with which even simple multicellular entities may evolve—and lose—novel social traits.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of altruistic cooperation among nascent multicellular organisms

Herron

2019

Evolution

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Organic and Cultural Evolution can be Seamlessly Integrated Using the Principles of Communication and Problem-Solving: The Foundations for an Extended Evolutionary Synthesis (EES) as Outlined in the Mega-Evolution Concept

Loof¹

2015

LEB

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When the "sender-receiver", also known as "communicating compartment", instead of "the cell", is adopted as the universal unit of structure and function of living matter, organic-and cultural evolution automatically emerge as the two sides of the same coin. This proposed conceptual switch makes "problem-solving activity" instead of gene-protein activity a key in understanding adaptation and evolution. The concept "problem-solving activity" has no teleological meaning in neo-Darwinism. This paradigm shift also allows for a plausible definition of "life" (L), as the sum of communication acts (C), L = ∑C. Any sender-receiver harbors two memory systems: genetic and cognitive. Using a human metaphor, where relevant, two types of progeny can (co)exist: "physical children" and "pupils". Any act of communication is a problem-solving act, because all messages, regardless of their nature, are coded. Hence, any receiver invariably faces the problem of how to extract and respond to the incoming information. Some biological problems are solved "the hardware way" (Darwinian organic evolution), others "the software way" (Lamarckian cultural evolution). Mega-Evolution means life's evolution as a hardware-software double continuum governed by the principles of both genetics and communication.

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Gould talking past Dawkins on the unit of selection issue

Cited by 2 publications

References 7 publications

Evolution of altruistic cooperation among nascent multicellular organisms

Evolution of altruistic cooperation among nascent multicellular organisms

Organic and Cultural Evolution can be Seamlessly Integrated Using the Principles of Communication and Problem-Solving: The Foundations for an Extended Evolutionary Synthesis (EES) as Outlined in the Mega-Evolution Concept

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