#549 Arvid Ågren: The Gene's-Eye View of Evolution
RECORDED ON OCTOBER 19th 2021.
Dr. Arvid Ågren is Wenner-Gren Fellow in the Department of Evolutionary Biology at Uppsala University. He is an evolutionary biologist studying genomic conflicts. He is the author of The Gene’s-Eye View of Evolution.
In this episode, we focus on The Gene’s-Eye View of Evolution. We first introduce the idea, and walk-through concepts like the “selfish gene”, and the replicator-vehicle approach. We get into the debate surrounding levels of selection, and inclusive fitness theory and group selection. We talk about what evolutionary biologists think about the gene’s-eye view of evolution, and the best alternatives to it. We discuss the relationship between this perspective and adaptationism, and how it makes sense of phenomena like pleiotropy, polygeny, and sexual selection. We discuss some limitations of it when dealing with developmental biology. We talk about cultural selection, and if memetics has been successful as a scientific discipline. Finally, we talk about what the gene’s-eye view of evolution might have to say about human nature, and the moral nature of the Universe.
Time Links:
Intro
What is the gene’s-eye view of evolution?
The selfish gene
The replicator-vehicle approach
The debate about levels of selection
Inclusive fitness theory, and group selection
What evolutionary biologists think about the gene’s-eye view of evolution, and alternatives to it
Adaptationism
Pleiotropy and polygeny
Sexual selection
The evolution of altruism
Development
Cultural evolution, and memetics
Human nature, and the moral nature of the Universe
Follow Dr. Ågren’s work!
Follow Dr. Ågren’s work:
University page: https://bit.ly/2Tj4ffu
Website: https://bit.ly/3oJZA3I
Works on ResearchGate: https://bit.ly/2WUPmSD
The Gene’s-Eye View of Evolution: https://amzn.to/3iLgKKq
Twitter handle: @arvidagren