Evolutionary Theory In The Social Sciences Evolution And Revolution

"The naturalizing perspective of Darwinian thought has become one of the major intellectual currents of our time, pervading contemporary understandings of human nature and society. Unfortunately, many social scientists in sociology, psychology, and sociocultural anthropology have failed to engage with it. Barkow asks his fellow social scientists to put aside their all-too-common preconceptions and stereotypes of the "biological" and to consider a powerful argument that is far different from that of those who once invoked a vocabulary of genes and Darwin as a justification for genocide. He argues that the theoretical perspective that has been so successful when applied to the behavior of every other animal speicies can be applied just as successfully to our own, and that the real debate is about how to apply it."--BOOK JACKET.

The concept of evolution has assumed many different connotations. This work uses Morris's distinction between syntax, semantics and pragmatics to develop a synchronic panorama of contemporary evolutionism - evolutionary economics.

A complete account of evolutionary thought in the social, environmental and policy sciences, creating bridges with biology.

"Handbook on Evolution and Society" brings together original chapters by prominent scholars who have been instrumental in the revival of evolutionary theorizing and research in the social sciences over the last twenty-five years. Previously unpublished essays provide up-to-date, critical surveys of recent research and key debates. The contributors discuss early challenges posed by sociobiology, the rise of evolutionary psychology, the more conflicted response of evolutionary sociology to sociobiology, and evolutionary psychology. Chapters address the application and limitations of Darwinian ideas in the social sciences. Prominent authors come from a variety of disciplines in ecology, biology, primatology, psychology, sociology, and the humanities. The most comprehensive resource available, this vital collection demonstrates to scholars and students the new ways in which evolutionary approaches, ultimately derived from biology, are influencing the diverse social sciences and humanities.

In retrospect the 19th century tmdoubtedly seems to be the century of evolutionism. The 'discovery of time' and therewith the experience of variability was made by many sciences: not only historians worked on the elaboration and interpretation of this discovery, but also physicists, geographers, biologists and economists, demographers, archaelogists, and even philosophers. The successful empirical fotmdation of evolutive processes by Darwin and his disciples suggested Herbert Spencer's vigorously pursued efforts in searching for an extensive' catalogue of prime and deduced evolutionary principles that would allow to integrate the most different disciplines of natural and social sciences as well as the efforts of philosophers of ethics and epistemologists. Soon it became evident, however, that the claim for integration anticipated by far the actual results of these different disciplines. Darwin I s theory suffered from the fact that in the beginning a hereditary factor which could have his theory could not be detected, while the gainings of grotmd supported in the social sciences got lost in consequence of the completely ahistorical or biologistic speculations of some representatives of the evolutionary research programm and common socialdarwinistic misinterpretations.