Williams (George C. Williams)

George C. Williams was an influential evolutionary biologist known for his work on the nature of natural selection and aging. He emphasized that natural selection primarily acts on traits that affect an organism's reproductive success rather than individual longevity, explaining why aging occurs despite its negative effects. Williams introduced the "antagonistic pleiotropy" theory, suggesting some genes beneficial in early life may cause harm later, leading to aging. His ideas helped clarify evolutionary explanations for aging and challenged earlier views that aging was an active process or solely due to genetic deterioration.