"The Genetical Evolution of Social Behaviour" is a 1964 scientific paper by the British evolutionary biologist

W.D. Hamilton William Donald Hamilton (1 August 1936 – 7 March 2000) was a British evolutionary biologist, recognised as one of the most significant evolutionary theorists of the 20th century. Hamilton became known for his theoretical work expounding a ...

in which he mathematically lays out the basis for

inclusive fitness In evolutionary biology, inclusive fitness is one of two metrics of evolutionary success as defined by W. D. Hamilton in 1964: * Personal fitness is the number of offspring that an individual begets (regardless of who rescues/rears/supports them ...

. Hamilton, then only a PhD student, completed his work in London. It was based on Haldane's idea, but Hamilton showed that it applied to all gene frequencies. Although initially obscure, it is now highly cited in biology books, and has gone on to reach such common currency that citations are now often unnecessary as it is assumed that the reader is so familiar with kin selection and inclusive fitness that he need not use the reference to obtain further information. The paper's

peer review Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work (peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...

process led to disharmony between one of the reviewers, John Maynard Smith and Hamilton. Hamilton thought that Maynard Smith had deliberately kept the paper, which has difficult mathematics, from publication so that Maynard Smith could claim credit for the concept of kin selection in his own paper. Indeed such was the time taken for peer review that Hamilton published a magazine essay in '' American Naturalist'' in 1963. The American

George R. Price George Robert Price (October 6, 1922 – January 6, 1975) was an American population geneticist. Price is often noted for his formulation of the Price equation in 1967. Originally a physical chemist and later a science journalist, he moved ...

found Hamilton's paper, and finding trouble in its implications for sociobiology, tried to disprove it but ended up rederiving his work through the

Price equation In the theory of evolution and natural selection, the Price equation (also known as Price's equation or Price's theorem) describes how a trait or allele changes in frequency over time. The equation uses a covariance between a trait and fitness, ...

. The paper has been reprinted in books twice, firstly in George C. Williams's ''Group Selection'', and secondly in the first volume of Hamilton's collected papers ''

Narrow Roads of Gene Land William Donald Hamilton (1 August 1936 – 7 March 2000) was a British evolutionary biologist, recognised as one of the most significant evolutionary theorists of the 20th century. Hamilton became known for his theoretical work expounding a ...

''. The latter includes a background essay by Hamilton. Hamilton had previously written a short note explaining the background in 1988 when

ISI ISI or Isi may refer to: Organizations * Intercollegiate Studies Institute, a classical conservative organization focusing on college students * Ice Skating Institute, a trade association for ice rinks * Indian Standards Institute, former name of ...

recorded it as a citation classic.Hamilton, W.D. (1988
This week's Citation Classic: The Genetical Evolution of Social Behaviour
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References

External links

The genetic evolution of social behaviour: bibliographical excerpts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Genetical Evolution Of Social Behaviour Evolutionary biology literature 1964 documents 1964 in biology Biology papers

See also

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External links