W.D. Hamilton

William D. Hamilton was a renowned evolutionary biologist who studied how and why behaviors like altruism and cooperation evolve. He introduced the concept of "kin selection," explaining that organisms are more likely to help relatives because it helps their shared genes survive. His work showed that altruistic actions could persist if they benefit relatives—even at a personal cost—by increasing the overall representation of shared genes in future generations. Hamilton’s insights helped clarify the genetic basis of social behavior and the mechanisms driving evolution in social species.