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Author: Jonathan Birch
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0191047368
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 281
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Book Description
From mitochondria to meerkats, the natural world is full of spectacular examples of social behaviour. In the early 1960s Bill Hamilton changed the way we think about how such behaviour evolves. He introduced three key innovations - now known as Hamilton's rule, kin selection, and inclusive fitness - which have been enormously influential, but which remain the subject of fierce controversy. Hamilton's pioneering work kick-started a research program now known as social evolution theory. This is a book about the philosophical foundations and future prospects of that program. Part I, "Foundations", is a careful exposition and defence of Hamilton's ideas, with a few modifications along the way. In Part II, "Extensions", Jonathan Birch shows how these ideas can be applied to phenomena including cooperation in micro-organisms, cooperation among the cells of a multicellular organism, and culturally evolved cooperation in the earliest human societies. Birch argues that real progress can be made in understanding microbial evolution, evolutionary transitions, and human evolution by viewing them through the lens of social evolution theory, provided the theory is interpreted with care and adapted where necessary. The Philosophy of Social Evolution places social evolution theory on a firm philosophical footing and sets out exciting new directions for further work.
Author: Jonathan Birch
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0191047368
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 281
Get Book
Book Description
From mitochondria to meerkats, the natural world is full of spectacular examples of social behaviour. In the early 1960s Bill Hamilton changed the way we think about how such behaviour evolves. He introduced three key innovations - now known as Hamilton's rule, kin selection, and inclusive fitness - which have been enormously influential, but which remain the subject of fierce controversy. Hamilton's pioneering work kick-started a research program now known as social evolution theory. This is a book about the philosophical foundations and future prospects of that program. Part I, "Foundations", is a careful exposition and defence of Hamilton's ideas, with a few modifications along the way. In Part II, "Extensions", Jonathan Birch shows how these ideas can be applied to phenomena including cooperation in micro-organisms, cooperation among the cells of a multicellular organism, and culturally evolved cooperation in the earliest human societies. Birch argues that real progress can be made in understanding microbial evolution, evolutionary transitions, and human evolution by viewing them through the lens of social evolution theory, provided the theory is interpreted with care and adapted where necessary. The Philosophy of Social Evolution places social evolution theory on a firm philosophical footing and sets out exciting new directions for further work.
Author: Jonathan Birch
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198733054
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 281
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Book Description
From mitochondria to meerkats, the natural world is full of spectacular examples of social behaviour. In the early 1960s W. D. Hamilton changed the way we think about how such behaviour evolves. He introduced three key innovations - now known as 'Hamilton's rule,' 'kin selection,' and 'inclusive fitness' - and his pioneering work kick-started a research programme now known as social evolution theory. His work has been enormously influential, but remains the subject of fierce controversy. This is a book about the philosophical foundations and future prospects of social evolution theory. In Part I, 'Foundations', Jonathan Birch provides a careful exposition and defence of Hamilton's ideas, with a few modifications along the way. In Part II, 'Extensions', Birch shows how these ideas can be applied to phenomena including cooperation in microorganisms, cooperation among the cells of a multicellular organism, and culturally evolved cooperation in the earliest human societies. Birch argues that real progress can be made in understanding microbial evolution, evolutionary transitions, and human evolution by viewing them through the lens of social evolution theory, provided the theory is interpreted with care and adapted where necessary. This book, the first book-length philosophical study of Hamilton's ideas, places social evolution theory on a firm philosophical footing and sets out exciting new directions for further work. It is essential reading for philosophers of science, evolutionary biologists, and evolutionary social scientists. -- from dust jacket.
Author: Jonathan Birch
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780198851684
Category : Social evolution
Languages : en
Pages : 288
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Book Description
From mitochondria to meerkats, the natural world is full of spectacular examples of social behaviour. In the early 1960s W. D. Hamilton changed the way we think about how such behaviour evolves. He introduced three key innovations - now known as 'Hamilton's rule,' 'kin selection,' and 'inclusive fitness' - and his pioneering work kick-started a research programme now known as social evolution theory. His work has been enormously influential, but remains the subject of fierce controversy. This is a book about the philosophical foundations and future prospects of social evolution theory. In Part I, 'Foundations', Jonathan Birch provides a careful exposition and defence of Hamilton's ideas, with a few modifications along the way. In Part II, 'Extensions', Birch shows how these ideas can be applied to phenomena including cooperation in microorganisms, cooperation among the cells of a multicellular organism, and culturally evolved cooperation in the earliest human societies. Birch argues that real progress can be made in understanding microbial evolution, evolutionary transitions, and human evolution by viewing them through the lens of social evolution theory, provided the theory is interpreted with care and adapted where necessary. This book, the first book-length philosophical study of Hamilton's ideas, places social evolution theory on a firm philosophical footing and sets out exciting new directions for further work. It is essential reading for philosophers of science, evolutionary biologists, and evolutionary social scientists. -- from dust jacket.
Author: Shiping Tang
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000039897
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 249
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Book Description
Tang provides a coherent and systematic exploration of social evolution as a phenomenon and as a paradigm. He critically builds on existing discussions on social evolution, while drawing from a wide range of disciplines, including archaeology, evolutionary anthropology, sociology, economics, political science, the philosophy of social sciences, and evolutionary biology. Clarifying the relationship between biological evolution and social evolution, Tang lays bare the ontological and epistemological principles of the social evolutionary paradigm. He also presents operational principles and tools for deploying this paradigm to understand empirical puzzles about human society. This is a vital resource for students, practitioners, and philosophers of all social sciences.
Author: Benjamin Kidd
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Sociology
Languages : en
Pages : 424
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Book Description
Author: Michael Ruse
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521117933
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 283
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Book Description
Provides a unique discussion of human evolution from a philosophical viewpoint, covering such issues as religion, race and gender.
Author: Harry Smit
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107055199
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 241
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Book Description
Harry Smit examines the elements of current evolutionary theory and how they bear on the evolution of the human mind.
Author: Steven A. Frank
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691206821
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 284
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Book Description
This is a masterly theoretical treatment of one of the central problems in evolutionary biology, the evolution of social cooperation and conflict. Steven Frank tackles the problem with a highly original combination of approaches: game theory, classical models of natural selection, quantitative genetics, and kin selection. He unites these with the best of economic thought: a clear theory of model formation and comparative statics, the development of simple methods for analyzing complex problems, and notions of information and rationality. Using this unique, multidisciplinary approach, Frank makes major advances in understanding the foundations of social evolution. Frank begins by developing the three measures of value used in biology--marginal value, reproductive value, and kin selection. He then combines these measures into a coherent framework, providing the first unified analysis of social evolution in its full ecological and demographic context. Frank also extends the theory of kin selection by showing that relatedness has two distinct meanings. The first is a measure of information about social partners, with close affinity to theories of correlated equilibrium and Bayesian rationality in economic game theory. The second is a measure of the fidelity by which characters are transmitted to future generations--an extended notion of heritability. Throughout, Frank illustrates his methods with many examples, including a complete reformulation of the theory of sex allocation. The book also provides a unique "how-to" guide for constructing models of social behavior. It is essential reading for evolutionary biologists and for economists, mathematicians, and others interested in natural selection.
Author: James A.R. Marshall
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691183333
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 216
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Book Description
Social behavior has long puzzled evolutionary biologists, since the classical theory of natural selection maintains that individuals should not sacrifice their own fitness to affect that of others. Social Evolution and Inclusive Fitness Theory argues that a theory first presented in 1963 by William D. Hamilton—inclusive fitness theory—provides the most fundamental and general explanation for the evolution and maintenance of social behavior in the natural world. James Marshall guides readers through the vast and confusing literature on the evolution of social behavior, introducing and explaining the competing theories that claim to provide answers to questions such as why animals evolve to behave altruistically. Using simple statistical language and techniques that practicing biologists will be familiar with, he provides a comprehensive yet easily understandable treatment of key concepts and their repeated misinterpretations. Particular attention is paid to how more realistic features of behavior, such as nonadditivity and conditionality, can complicate analysis. Marshall highlights the general problem of identifying the underlying causes of evolutionary change, and proposes fruitful approaches to doing so in the study of social evolution. Social Evolution and Inclusive Fitness Theory describes how inclusive fitness theory addresses both simple and complex social scenarios, the controversies surrounding the theory, and how experimental work supports the theory as the most powerful explanation for social behavior and its evolution.
Author: Hugh Doherty
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 208
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Book Description
