Holistic Darwinism : synergy, cybernetics, and the bioeconomics of evolution / Peter A. Corning.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Corning, Peter A., 1935-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social evolution.

Evolutionary economics.

Sociobiology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (555 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2005.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In recent years, evolutionary theorists have come to recognize that the reductionist, individualist, gene-centered approach to evolution cannot sufficiently account for the emergence of complex biological systems over time. Peter A. Corning has been at the forefront of a new generation of complexity theorists who have been working to reshape the foundations of evolutionary theory. Well known for his Synergism Hypothesis-a theory of complexity in evolution that assigns a key causal role to various forms of functional synergy-Corning puts this theory into a much broader framework in Holistic Darwinism, addressing many of the issues and concepts associated with the evolution of complex systems. Corning's paradigm embraces and integrates many related theoretical developments of recent years, from multilevel selection theory to niche construction theory, gene-culture coevolution theory, and theories of self-organization. Offering new approaches to thermodynamics, information theory, and economic analysis, Corning suggests how all of these domains can be brought firmly within what he characterizes as a post-neo-Darwinian evolutionary synthesis.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Introduction. The New Evolutionary Paradigm

Part I. Synergy and Evolution: From the Origins of Life to Global Governance

Part II. Bioeconomics and Evolution

Part III. From Thermodynamics and Information Theory to Thermoeconomics and Control Information

Part IV. Evolution and Ethics

Acknowledgments

Notes

References

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 473-528) and index.

ISBN:

9786612738388

9781282738386

1282738380

9780226116334

0226116336

OCLC:

655829807