Multi-Level Selection, Covariance and Contextual Analysis
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8399484 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Samir Okasha (0000-0001-6595-7557, Centre for Science and Environment, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2004 |
| Volume | 55 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 481-504 |
| Publication date | 2004-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0007-0882 • E-ISSN: 1464-3537 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/bjps/55.3.481 |
| OpenAlex | W2083317339 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 11 |
| References cited | 27 |
Two alternative statistical approaches to modelling multi-level selection in nature, both found in the contemporary biological literature, are contrasted. The simple covariance approach partitions the total selection differential on a phenotypic character into within-group and between-group components, and identifies the change due to group selection with the latter. The contextual approach partitions the total selection differential into different components, using multivariate regression analysis. The two approaches have different implications for the question of what constitutes group selection and what does not. I argue that the contextual approach is theoretically preferable. This has important implications for a number of issues in the philosophical debate about the levels of selection. 1. Introduction 2. Group selection and the covariance formulation of selection 3. The contextual approach 4. A modification of the simple covariance approach 5. Consequences: frameshifting and additivity 5.1 Frameshifting 5.2 Additivity 6. Conclusion
Analysis of covariance · Character (mathematics) · Covariance · Epistemology · Group (periodic table) · Group selection · Multivariate statistics · Selection (genetic algorithm) · Simple (philosophy) · Statistics · Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science · Evolution and Genetic Dynamics · Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation · Mathematics · Philosophy · Plant and animal studies
Stable Models and Causal Explanation in Evolutionary Biology
Why Genic and Multilevel Selection Theories Are Here to Stay
Explanatory goals and explanatory means in multilevel selection theory
Is there such a thing as “group selection” in the contextual analysis framework
Cross-Unit Causation and the Identity of Groups
Altruism, Group Selection and Correlated Interaction
Multi-Level Selection and the Explanatory Value of Mathematical Decompositions
The Relation between Kin and Multilevel Selection
Varieties of Population Structure and the Levels of Selection
Gestalt-Switching and the Evolutionary Transitions
The Levels of Selection Debate
Contextual analysis
The Selfish Gene
Extension of covariance selection mathematics
The Units of Selection
The Major Transitions in Evolution
Alternative formulations of multilevel selection
Foundations of Social Evolution
The Nature of Selection
A Critical Review of Philosophical Work on the Units of Selection Problem
The Units of Selection and the Bases of Selection
Pluralism, Entwinement, and the Levels of Selection
Why Won't the Group Selection Controversy Go Away
| Unique citing works | 11 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,52 |
| Citation span | 2005 - 2020 (16) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 9 |