Sibling rivalry and intergenerational conflict are not limited to
human beings. Among seals and piglets, storks and burying beetles,
in bird nests and beehives, from apples to humans, family conflicts
can be deadly serious, determining who will survive and who will
perish. When offspring compete for scarce resources, sibling
rivalry kicks in automatically. Parents sometime play favorites or
even kill their young. In More than Kin and Less than Kind, Douglas
Mock tells us what scientists have discovered about this disturbing
side of family dynamics in the natural world. Natural selection
operates primarily for the benefit of individuals (and their
genes). Thus a family member may profit directly, by producing its
own offspring, or indirectly, by helping close kin to reproduce.
Much of the biology of family behavior rests on a simple
mathematical relationship called Hamilton's rule, which links the
benefits and costs of seemingly altruistic or selfish behavior to
the degree of relatedness between individuals. Blending natural
history and theoretical biology, Mock shows how Hamilton's rule
illuminates the study of family strife by throwing a spotlight on
the two powerful forces-cooperation and competition-that shape all
interaction in the family arena. In More than Kin and Less than
Kind, he offers a rare perspective on the family as testing ground
for the evolutionary limits of selfishness. When budgets are tight,
close kin are often deadly rivals.
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