Williams Revolution

Named in honour of George C. Williams, the Williams Revolution is the phrase sometimes used to characterise the paradigm shift which is asserted to have occurred in theoretical biology in the mid-1960s. The idea that was eclipsed was that of group selection, which was replaced by theories and analyses which emphasised the utility of examining evolution at a genetic level. This viewpoint is epitomised in the idea of kin selection.

The book by Williams that was important in this process was Adaptation and Natural Selection (1966), though other researchers, including W. D. Hamilton, John Maynard Smith and Robert Trivers, contributed to the shift in biological thinking at this time.