Pleiotropic Theories of Aging and their Empirical Foundation II: Demography

Pleiotropic theories for the evolutionary origins of senescence have been ascendant for forty years, and it is not surprising that interpreters of demographic data seek to frame their results in this context. But without alternative hypotheses, it can sometimes be unclear to what extent the same data might equally well have been viewed as antagonistic. We cite as examples two prominent studies that have been taken as support for the prevailing theories, and show that the same data may be open to other interpretations.