The Greatest Show on Earth The Evidence for Evolution

New York, NY: Free Press. Near Fine in Near Fine dust jacket. 2009. 1st American Edition; 1st Printing. Hardcover. 1416594787 . Color and B&W illustrations and Photographs; This book is in Near Fine condition and has a Near Fine dust jacket. The book and its contents are in clean, bright condition. The text pages are clean and bright. The dust jacket is crisp and clean. "Dawkins has consistently been sceptical about non-adaptive processes in evolution (such as spandrels, described by Gould and Lewontin) and about selection at levels "above" that of the gene. He is particularly sceptical about the practical possibility or importance of group selection as a basis for understanding altruism. This behaviour appears at first to be an evolutionary paradox, since helping others costs precious resources and decreases one's own fitness. Previously, many had interpreted this as an aspect of group selection: individuals are doing what is best for the survival of the population or species as a whole. British evolutionary biologist W. D. Hamilton used gene-frequency analysis in his inclusive fitness theory to show how hereditary altruistic traits can evolve if there is sufficient genetic similarity between actors and recipients of such altruism (including close relatives). Hamilton's inclusive fitness has since been successfully applied to a wide range of organisms, including humans." (from Wikipedia) .