A friend of Uncommon Descent writes to say that E. O. Wilson abandoning his kin selection theory (group Darwinism vs. the selfish gene) due to lack of evidence has caused quite the little uproar in Britain. He adds,
The gist of the responses in Nature seemed to be that Nowak and Wilson did not understand kin selection properly.
But didn’t entomologist Wilson invent his theory of human behaviour himself, based on his work with social insects where only the queen lays eggs?
So, if the inventor doesn’t “understand” the theory … who could? Wouldn’t whatever others say have to be at least a different theory? Or are even the abandoned coattails worth hanging on to?
Correction: An alert reader has written to say – William Hamilton and others invented the theory. E. O. Wilson helped to popularize it. “But everyone used to think he understood it!”