Named in honour of George C. Williams, the Williams Revolution is a phrase used to characterise a paradigm shift asserted to have occurred in theoretical biology in the mid-1960s. Population genetics was largely the basis for the modern evolutionary synthesis and was described in terms of genes, verbal arguments were nearly always couched in terms of "survival of the species" — essentially group selection (a view notably expounded by V.C. Wynne-Edwards). This viewpoint was replaced by a gene-centered view of evolution, epitomised by kin selection. Models of the period showed that group selection was severely limited in its strength. Professor George C. Williams is emeritus professor of biology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. ... A paradigm shift is the term first used by Thomas Kuhn in his famous 1962 book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions to describe the process and result of a change in basic assumptions within the ruling theory of science. ... Main articles: Life All organisms (viruses not included) consist of cells, which in turn, are based on a common carbon-based biochemistry. ... Population genetics is the study of the distribution of and change in allele frequencies under the influence of the five evolutionary forces: natural selection, genetic drift, mutation, migration and nonrandom mating. ... The modern evolutionary synthesis (often referred to simply as the modern synthesis), neo-Darwinian synthesis or neo-Darwinism, brings together Charles Darwins theory of the evolution of species by natural selection with Gregor Mendels theory of genetics as the basis for biological inheritance. ... This stylistic schematic diagram shows a gene in relation to the double helix structure of DNA and to a chromosome (right). ... In evolutionary biology, Group selection refers to the idea that alleles can become fixed or spread in a population because of the benefits they bestow on groups, regardless of the fitness of individuals within that group. ... Vero Copner Wynne-Edwards (4 July 1906 — January 5, 1997) was a British zoologist famous for espousing group selectionist ideas which, after the Williams revolution, are now generally considered naive and incorrect. ... The gene-centric view of evolution or gene selection theory holds that natural selection acts at level of the gene, increasing the frequency of those genes whose phenotypic effects sucessfully promotes its own replication. ... Kin selection was first suggested by Darwin as an explanation of the sterile castes of social insects and has later been mathematically defined by W. D. Hamilton as a mechanism for the evolution of apparently altruistic acts. ... In evolutionary biology, Group selection refers to the idea that alleles can become fixed or spread in a population because of the benefits they bestow on groups, regardless of the fitness of individuals within that group. ...

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. Richard Dawkins popularised the revolution in his 1976 book, The Selfish Gene. The work can be seen as having built upon the work of Ronald Fisher as expressed particularly in his 1930 book, The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection. 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... W. D. Hamilton Professor William Donald Bill Hamilton, F.R.S. (1 August 1936 — 7 March 2000) was a British evolutionary biologist. ... John Maynard Smith Professor John Maynard Smith1, F.R.S. (6 January 1920 – 19 April 2004) was a British evolutionary biologist and geneticist. ... Robert L. Trivers, (born 19 February 1943) is an American evolutionary biologist and sociobiologist, most noted for proposing the theories of reciprocal altruism (1971), parental investment (1972), and parent-offspring conflict (1974). ... Dawkins is the holder of the Charles Simonyi Chair in the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford. ... The Selfish Gene is a controversial book by Richard Dawkins published in 1976. ... Sir Ronald Fisher Sir Ronald Aylmer Fisher, FRS (February 17, 1890 – July 29, 1962) was an evolutionary biologist, geneticist and statistician. ... The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection is a book by Ronald Fisher. ...