The problem with the Price equation.

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences
Matthijs van Veelen

Abstract

In this paper, I will argue that the generality of the Price equation comes at a cost, and that is that the terms in it become meaningless. There are simple linear models that can be written in a Price equation-like form, and for those the terms in them have a meaningful interpretation. There are also models for which that is not the case, and in general, when no assumptions on the shape of the fitness function are made, and all possible models are allowed for, the regression coefficients in the Price equation do not allow for a meaningful interpretation. The failure to recognize that the Price equation, although general, only has a meaningful interpretation under restrictive assumptions, has done real damage to the field of social evolution, as will be illustrated by looking at an application of the Price equation to group selection. This article is part of the theme issue 'Fifty years of the Price equation'.

References

Apr 1, 1972·Annals of Human Genetics·G R Price
Aug 1, 1970·Nature·G R Price
Jul 1, 1964·Journal of Theoretical Biology·W D Hamilton
Jul 1, 1964·Journal of Theoretical Biology·W D Hamilton
Oct 1, 1984·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·J F Crow, K Aoki
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Jun 15, 2005·Journal of Theoretical Biology·Matthijs van Veelen
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Feb 24, 2007·Journal of Theoretical Biology·Matthijs van Veelen
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Oct 14, 2009·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Adrian V BellRichard McElreath
Mar 5, 2011·Journal of Evolutionary Biology·A GardnerG Wild
Jul 5, 2011·Journal of Theoretical Biology·Marco Archetti, István Scheuring
Aug 16, 2011·Journal of Theoretical Biology·Matthijs van VeelenMartijn Egas
Nov 28, 2012·Journal of Mathematical Biology·Benjamin Allen, Corina E Tarnita
Jun 5, 2013·Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution·Burton SimonMichael Doebeli
Oct 8, 2013·Journal of Theoretical Biology·Shishi Luo
Nov 28, 2013·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Benjamin AllenEdward O Wilson
Jul 19, 2014·Journal of Theoretical Biology·Matthijs van VeelenBurton Simon
Jun 28, 2016·Journal of Theoretical Biology·Marco Archetti, István Scheuring
Aug 30, 2016·Journal of Theoretical Biology·Matthijs van VeelenCarl Veller
May 18, 2017·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Martin A NowakEdward O Wilson
Oct 16, 2018·ELife·Matthijs van Veelen

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Citations

May 10, 2020·Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution·Aslıhan Akdeniz, Matthijs van Veelen
Mar 10, 2020·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·Jussi LehtonenHeikki Helanterä

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