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Letter: The yin and yang of human evolution

Published 3 December 2025

From Matt Black, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, UK

Jonathan R. Goodman argues that the selfish gene view of evolution is correct and bemoans the “old and tired” debate on whether niceness and group selection trump that. It is this binary thinking that is old and tired. Evidence for each view exists and must be synthesised into a 360-degree view. Competition and cooperation are the yin and yang of evolution. Their interaction is the endless dance of behaviour and adaptation we call life (15 November, p 19).

Issue no. 3572 published 6 December 2025

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