ravi wrote:
>
> On May 13, 2009, at 11:18 PM, Miles Jackson wrote:
> > ravi wrote:
> >
> >> Chuck,
> >> we (Doyle and I) have been discussing this on PEN-L for a day or
> >> two. But w.r.t the above, IMHO you are wrong: Natural selection
> >> (as per standard theory and the MS) occurs at the level of the
> >> individual. Arguments for higher levels of selection, "group
> >> selection", have been around at least since Wynne-Edwards (late
> >> 50s?), and Gould/PE have little to do with that.
> >
> > No, check out Gould's Structure of Evolutionary Theory. He is quite
> > sympathetic to the notion of selection at the extraindividual level.
> > There is no compelling reason why adaptation must occur at the level
> > of the individual species member.
>
> But SoET was written in the last 10 years, yes? (its easy to suggest
> that I check SoET ;-) but the thing, IIRC, is 10000 pages long, and
> frankly, much as I respect Gould, I wouldn't turn to it as my most
> reliable source of evolutionary theory).
The problem was Chuck's linking of two separate questions, that of punctuated equlibrium and that of group selection. Gould has argued for both (and in his earlier essays as well as in Strucutre, but they are not particularly connected. P/E is one thing, selection at different levels another thing.
Carrol