Nature's magic : synergy in evolution and the fate of humankind / Peter Corning.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Corning, Peter A., 1935-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Evolution (Biology).

Human evolution.

Physical Description:

ix, 454 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, U.K. ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Summary:

Nature's Magic presents a bold new vision of the evolutionary process -- from the Big Bang to the 21st century. Synergy of various kinds is not only a ubiquitous aspect of the natural world but it has also been a wellspring of creativity and the "driver" of the broad evolutionary trend toward increased complexity, in nature and human societies alike. But in contrast with the many theories of emergence or complexity that rely on some underlying force or "law," the "Synergism Hypothesis," as Peter Corning calls it, is in essence an economic theory of biological complexity; it is fully consistent with mainstream evolutionary biology. Corning refers to it as Holistic Darwinism. Among the many important insights that are provided by this new paradigm, Corning presents a scenario in which the human species invented itself; synergistic behavioral and technological innovations were the "pacemakers" of our biological evolution. Synergy has also been the key to the evolution of complex modern societies, he concludes. The final chapter addresses our current challenges and future prospects.

Contents:

1 Prologue: The New Evolutionary Paradigm 1

What Is Synergy?

The Causal Role of Synergy in Evolution

The "Synergistic Ape"

The Perils of Prediction

2 The "Enchanted Loom" 8

A Golden Tapestry of Synergies

Technology as Synergy

Synergies 'R' Us

Synergistic Neurons

The Varieties of Synergy

Synergy Is Everywhere

3 The Magic Castle 35

The Big Whoosh

Enter Synergy

Synergy and Gravity

Fusion and Synergy

Chemistry and Synergy

The Anthropic Principle

Architectonics in Evolution

Nature's Wizardry

Catch-22 and the Synergy of RNA

The Evidence from Stromatolites

Symbiosis as a Form of Synergy

Eukaryotes Are Us

"Symbiogenesis"

The Economics of Symbiosis

Multicellular Synergy

Photosynthesis and Synergy

Cambrian Synergy

Social Synergy

Synergy in Ecosystems

An Oasis of Synergy

Synergy in the Biosphere

Good Gaia!

The Whole Shebang

4 "Black Magic" 77

Negative Synergy Is Not an Oxymoron

"Dysergy" in Cyberspace

Threshold Effects

Negative Social Synergy

The Titanic Effect

Synergy Minus One

Synergy Goes to War

Y2K: A Close Call

The Paradox of Dependency

"Devolution" as a Loss of Synergy

A Biblical Example

The Rise and Fall of Rome

Pox Romana

The Lessons of History

High and Low Synergy

Negative Synergy in Nature

5 The Synergism Hypothesis 103

Why Not Synergy?

The Vicissitudes of Synergy

The Ideological Debate about Evolution

A Favorable Tide?

Where Is Natural Selection?

The "Causes" of Evolution

The Synergism Hypothesis

Synergy and the Evolution of Complexity

The Selfish Genome

Seeing with New Eyes

Growing Support for This Theory

The Economics of Synergy

Cooperation Versus Competition

Testing for Synergy

Neo-Darwinism Compared

Egoistic Cooperation

Game Theory Revisited

Other Problems

Indirect Reciprocity

Synergistic Selection

A Stalking Horse

Turning the Necker Cube

Weighing the Synergism Hypothesis

Consider the Alternatives

Holistic Darwinism: The New Evolutionary Paradigm

6 "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" 153

Lamarck's Vision

Organic Selection

The "Pacemaker" of Evolution

Legendary Learners

The "Sentient Symphony"

Social Learning

Tool-Using Synergy

Culture Wars

Lamarck's Ghost

Other Voices

Evolution "on Purpose"

Chance, Necessity, and Teleonomy

"Downward Causation"

Selfish Memes?

"Feedback" [sic]

"Neo-Lamarckian Selection"

A Two-Way Street

Neo-Lamarckian Selection and Human Evolution

7 Conjuring Human Evolution: The Synergistic Ape 188

A Wealth of Scenarios

The Killer Ape

Food-Sharing

The Nuclear Family

The Synergism Hypothesis and Human Evolution

What Was the Context?

Primate Pre-Adaptations

Australopithecine Synergy

A Division of Labor?

Tools and Synergy

Hard Evidence for Soft Technologies

The Social Triad

"Homo Intermedius"

A Technological Revolution

A Neo-Lamarckian Process

A Hotbed of Synergy

Culture, Language, and Synergy

"Homo Symbolicus"

Language as a Prime Mover?

Language as an Invention

The Human "Revolution"?

Two Paths to Modern Humans

A Synergistic "Package"

Prehistoric Warfare?

The Rise of the Zulu Nation

Occam's Razor Revisited

The Synergistic Species

8 Conjuring History: Does Cultural Evolution Have an "Arrow"? 240

An Ancient Idea

The Age of Spencer

A Passel of Prime Movers

The Social Conflict School

Technological Determinism

What Is Technology?

Sunflower Oil

The Automobile Revolution

Technology and the Synergism Hypothesis

Down with Prime Movers!

A Trajectory without an Arrow

The Cultural "Gear-Train"

Synergy in Cultural Evolution

Synergy in Settlements

The Agricultural "Revolution"

Synergy in Chiefdomships and States

Upward and Onward?

9 The Science of History 278

Pythagoras and "The Music of the Spheres"

The Neo-Pythagoreans

The Quest for Laws of History

The Law of Evolution?

Order for Free?

Self-Organization

The Law of Higglety Pigglety

Is the "Science of History" an Oxymoron?

Emergence and the Rules of Chess

Molecular Computers

Simple Models and the Hierarchy of Nature

An Unfinished Symphony

10 Conjuring the Future: What Can We Predict? 300

The Logic of Synergy

The Logic of Failure

Replacing Forecasts with Strategic Plans

Some Contingent Trends

Cassandra Meets Pollyanna

Synergy and the Fate of Humankind

Tying Up the Loose Threads

Revisiting "The Sorcerer's Apprentice".

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 372-429) and index.

ISBN:

0521825474

OCLC:

123203490

Online:

Publisher description