Het lot van een humanist

"For one of Hamilton's readers the impact of the idea of the selfish gene was tragic. George Price taught himself genetics in order to disprove Hamilton's stark conclusion that altruism was just genetic selfishness, but instead proved it indisputably correct - indeed, even improved the algebra and made some important contributions to the theory himself. The two began to collaborate, but Price, who was showing increasing signs of mental instability, turned to religion for solace, gave away all his possessions to the poor and committed suicide in a bare and cold London squat, some letters from Hamilton among his few possessions." (Ridley 1996, The Origins of Virtue, p. 19)