Europe Rushton Genetic Similarity Theory

John Philippe Rushton was a Psychology professor at the University of Western Ontario who became generally known for his research on apparent forms of racial variation. Rushton’s book, Race, Evolution, and Behavior (1995), describes his r/k selection theory on how Mongoloids, Negroids, and Caucasoids obtain their evolutionary characteristics. Many critiques and reviews targeted Rushton for his controversial work; including articles from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences (1989). During his early career, Rushton began researching hereditary aspects of altruism; thereby, developing the Genetic Similarity Theory. “Altruism defined as behavior carried out to benefit others, in extreme form altruism involves self-sacrifice. In humans altruistic behavior ranges from everyday kindnesses, through sharing scarce resources, to giving up one's life to save others (Rushton 1989).” This theory was a direct extension of William Donald Hamilton’s Kin Selection Theory. Throughout Rushton’s literature there is a constant pattern of faulty conclusions, citations from his own work, sources that have been outdated, undeterminable measurements, and broad, vague assumptions. The consistency of these complications affected his reputation severely. Rushton appeared to void out any socio-economic factors that could influence his generalizations. Analyzing his Genetic Similarity Theory and evaluating all credible sources, one will find many errors and misconceptions.

The evaluated references I have viewed were legitimate and commonly tested in the category of kin recognition. Rushton quite often cites Hamilton on his mathematical notions of an organism achieving inclusive fitness by the passing on of identical organism’s genes (Rushton 1989). Analyzing the...

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...present (Gangestad 1989). The paradox of altruism is another notion undefined because it interferes with Charles Darwin’s “survival of the fittest”. Now there is a gene present contributing to the benefiting of the vast number of species and no longer a battle for personal fitness? Organism’s now reproduce to carry on the successful offspring by themselves and genetically similar organisms (Rushton 1980). This is the evolution of species’ genes and now kin related species will obtain the same genes? Rushton expands more on Dawkin’s “selfish gene”. With zero evidence, he concludes that non-related species with the same genetic makeup can consist of altruistic behavior rather than it just pertaining to kin. Bringing us back to the question, how can a specie just know another’s genetic makeup? And how can they have the same genetic makeup and belong to a different kin?