The units of selection
Adaptations are characteristics that benefit ... what exactly? Clearly adaptations benefit something in the living world, but to understand exactly why adaptations evolve we need to know in theory what it really is that adaptations evolve for the benefit of.
- Adaptation benefits . . . what exactly?
- Does a gene ever benefit at the expense of an allele?
- Does selection ever favor cells over the rest of the body?
- Can natural selection favor altruistic actions?
- Does natural selection ever favor groups, rather than individuals?
- Why are adaptations mainly at the level of the organism?