Hamilton's Theory

Abstract

Paradoxically, inheritance is the basis of evolutionary change. Without safe transmission of genetic information from one generation to the next, there would be random arrangement of the genetic building blocks. Constant randomization of information carriers obviously cannot lead to meaningful information. Thus, the cornerstone of evolution is genetics. Only after conserving well-tried genes can there be competition (selection) between new, yet untested ones (i.e., mutations). Charles Darwin (1809±1882) was the first to formulate a theory of gradual evolutionary change caused by adaptive mutations that are selected out of a number of other random variants. In a relentless ` struggle for existence'' many slightly different variants are competing with each other and only few survive. Darwin's notion of ` survival of the fittest'' seems to convey the picture of a war in which everyone fights everyone. Nature is ` red in tooth and claw,'' a merciless killing in which only the strongest and meanest can prevail. Victory (i.e., evolutionary success or `fitness') is granted according to the reproductive success of the survivor. Again, only if the trait that led to successful reproduction is safely transmitted to the offspring, will this trait spread and eventually be represented as a feature of the species. Of course, if the trait in addition leads to procreation at a competitor's expense, the animal not only gains fitness itself, but also reduces the fitness of those animals it is exploiting, increasing its odds even further. It is no wonder that parasitism and exploitation are widespread phenomena and virtually universal across the living world. Darwin himself emphasized: