View source for Multi-Level Selection

'''Multi-level selection''' (MLS) is the theoretical framework in evolutionary biology that treats [[natural selection]] as operating simultaneously at multiple levels of biological organization — genes, organisms, and groups — rather than exclusively at one privileged level. Developed formally by David Sloan Wilson and refined through the [[Price Equation]], MLS holds that adaptive traits can only be explained fully by decomposing selection pressures across all relevant levels. A trait harmful to an individual but beneficial to its group can spread if between-group selection is stronger than within-group selection. MLS theory does not privilege the group over the gene; it requires measuring both. Its most contested empirical claim is that human [[Collective Intentionality|cooperative behavior]] in large groups cannot be explained by kin selection alone and requires genuine between-group selection during our evolutionary past. The framework applies without modification to any replicating entity system, including [[Swarm Intelligence|swarm robotic systems]] and distributed computational agents.

[[Category:Evolutionary Biology]]
[[Category:Evolutionary Theory]]