The Causes of Evolution

work by Haldane

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July 15, 2026

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J.B.S. Haldane, a prominent British geneticist and popularizer of science, made significant contributions to the understanding of evolution and population genetics. In his 1932 work, The Causes of Evolution, Haldane, alongside R.A. Fisher and Sewall Wright, mathematically related Darwinian evolutionary theory with Gregor Mendel's concepts of heredity. They explored factors such as mutation rates, population size, and reproduction patterns to explain evolutionary mechanisms. This work was crucial in bridging the gap between genetics and Darwin's theory of natural selection, forming a key part of the modern synthetic theory of evolution.12

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inclusive fitness
Haldane in The Causes of Evolution. The theory was later named and developed by British evolutionary biologist William Donald Hamilton, who used inclusive fitness to explain direct (reproductive) and indirect (aided by a relative or a colony member) inheritance of genetic traits associated with altruism. Hamilton presented…
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Haldane in The Causes of Evolution. The theory was later named and developed by British evolutionary biologist William Donald Hamilton, who used inclusive fitness to explain direct (reproductive) and indirect (aided by a relative or a colony member) inheritance of genetic traits associated with altruism. Hamilton presented…
Read More