Generic properties of evolutionary games and adaptationism∗

Adaptationism maintains that natural selection is the principal factor causing evolutionary change. This statement is in need of qualification. Indeed, Peter Godfrey-Smith finds several possible usages of the term adaptationism. Steven Orzack and Elliott Sober argue that for adaptationism to be an interesting research program it has to be given in a reasonably strong form. Such a reasonably strong version describes adaptationism as committed to the claim that any factor other than natural selection can nearly always be ignored in the explanation of why a certain trait is found in a population. Thus, adaptationism allows one to ignore the role of non-selective factors such as mutation, drift, recombination, or epigenetic processes. Evolutionary game theory as set forth by John Maynard Smith is often associated with adaptationism. Evolutionary games are considered as nothing but ∗I am grateful to Brian Skyrms, Rory Smead, Elliott Sober, and Kevin Zollman for helpful comments.