Some historians, notably Peter J. Bowler, have suggested the possibility that in the paper he mailed to Darwin, Wallace was not discussing selection of individual variations at all but rather group selection.
Beberapa sejarawan, khususnya Peter J. Bowler, mengemukakan adanya kemungkinan bahwa dalam makalah yang dikirimnya ke Darwin, Wallace sama sekali tidak membahas seleksi dari variasi individu melainkan seleksi kelompok.