Key-references on Evolutionary thought and social sciences and evolution

This page contains the five books I personally regard as valuable in expressing important ideas about evolutionary thought. My view is of course totally biased by my past, the social surroundings, etc. The order of reference has no meaning.

  • 1: The New evolutionary paradigm, Laszlo E (ed.) (1991) The world future general evolution studies, volume 2. Gordon and Breach publishers.
  • 2: Economics and evolution. Bringing life back into economics, Hodgson G (1993). Polity Press.
  • 3: The origins of order. Self-organization and selection in evolution. Kauffman S (1993) Oxford University press. There is now a more popular book released that I have not red yet, but that must be better readable than the origin of order.
  • 4: Learning, development, and culture. Essays in evolutionary epistemology. Plotkin HC (ed)(1982) John Wiley & Sons.
  • 5: Evolutionary epistemology. Campbell DT (1974). In Schlipp PA (ED) The philosophy of Karl Popper, The Library of Living Philosophers volume XIV.

    Social Evolutionary theory.

    Evolutionary theory is frequently used in social sciences [read: everything that is not biology, physics, math, computer-sciences, etc.]. However evolution can be used for many different things. I'd like to make a difference between evolution as change, and evolution as learning. In biology you could say that an eco-system can evolve [read; change], but not learn. A species can learn by natural selection [read: adapt]. Another difference is that some evolutionary theories see a change towards a predetermined end-state [like theories of communism], others see no direction, only change [see Hodgson, 1993]. In learning-evolution the variation-retention-selection scheme from Darwin is often used as the basic conceptual model [Campbell, 1974]. There are evolutionary theories about conceptual learning, about technology and economics, and about culture in general. The following list is an attempt to gather references on social evolutionary theory. I will at least separate the references on economics, since those are the references that are easily recognizable. Also theories about politics are separated from evolution of culture and society, and the rest including a lot of philosophy.

    If you know of important references that are not included, please let me know through e-mail:Hans-Cees Speel through the Internet at hanscees@hanscees.com

    Evolution in Economics

  • Baum JAC and Sigh Jv (ed)(1994) Evolutionary dynamics of organizations. Oxford University Press
  • Boulding, k e (1981), evolutionary economics
  • Bresson C de (1987) The evolutionary paradigm and the eco- nomics of technological change. Journal of economical issues vol XXI no. 2 june 751-762
  • Clark and calestous (1987), long-run economics: an evolutionary approach
  • Coombs R; Saviotti P; Walsh V (ed) (1992) Technologi- cal change and company strategies: economic and sociologica l perspectives. Academic press inc. San Diego.
  • Dosi G; Pavitt K; Soete L (1990)the economics of techni- cal change and international trade. Harvester Whe atsheaf, New York.
  • Freeman C (1991) Innovation, changes of techno-economic paradigm and biological anologies in economics. Revue Economique No. 2 p. 211-232
  • Hanann MT, Freeman, J (1989) Organizational ecology. Cambridge. Harvard U.P.
  • Hanush, horst (1988), evolutionary economics. Cambridge
  • Hirschleifer J (1977) Economics from a biological viewpoint. Journal of law & economics vol: 20, 1-52
  • Hodgson G (1991) Economic Evolution: Intervention contra pangloss. Journal Of Economical Issues, Vol. XXV No. 2 June
  • Hodgson G (1992) Marx, Engels and economic evolution. Inter- national Journal of Social Economics, Vol 19 Nos 7/8/9, pp. 121-128. MCB University Press.
  • Hodgson G (1992)The Reconstruction of Economics: Is there still a place for neoclassical theory? Journal Of Economical Issues, Vol XXVI No. 3 September
  • Hodgson G (1993)Theories of economic evolution: a prelimi- nary taxonomy. The Manchester school Vol LXI No. 2 june 0025-2034 125-134
  • Hodgson G (1993) The mecca of Alfred Marshall. The economic journal, March, v. 103 p 406-415
  • Hodgson G (1993) Why the problem of reductionism in biology has implications for economics. World futures vol 37. pp 69-90
  • Hodgson G (1993) Economics and evolution. Bringing life back into economics. Polity Press.
  • Jolink, a (1991), liberte, egalite, rarete, the evolu- tionary economics of leon walras. Thesis 1991, Thinbergen inst. research series:3
  • Nelson, rr,1987, understanding technical change as an evolutionary process,
  • Nelson RR; Winter SG Jr, 1982, an evolutionary theory of economic change
  • Pantzar M, 1991, a replicative perspective on evoluti- onary dynamics, labour institute for economic research, tutkimuksia 37 research raport 37 Helsinki 1991
  • Penrose ET (1952) Biological anologies in the theory of the firm. American Economic review, vol 42 (dec), 804-19
  • Penrose ET (1953) Rejoinder. American Economic review, vol 43 (sept), 603-07
  • Rapport DJ; Turner, JE (1977) Economic models in eco- logy. Science 195: 367-373
  • Rapport DJ (1991) Myths in the foundations of economics and ecology. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 44: 185-202
  • Saviotti and metcalf 1991, evolutionary theories of eco- nomic and technological change
  • Tool, mc (1988),m evolutionary economics
  • Winter SG Jr. (1964) Economic 'natural selection' and the theory of the firm. Yale Economic Essays, 224-272.
  • Witt U (ed), 1992, explaining process and change, appro- aches to evolutionary economics. The university of michigan press.

    Evolution in Politics/ policy

  • Axelrod R (1986) An evolutionary approach to norms. American Political Science review vol. 80 pp 1095-1111
  • Adler E(1989) Cognitive evolution: a dynamic approach for the study of international relations and their progress CSIA working papers 89-4. Center for science & international affairs, JFK school of government, Harvard University
  • Modelski , G and Poznanski K (1994) Evolutionary paradigms in the social sciences. Workshop report, may 13-14 Se- attle, University of Washington. Bij de boeken.
  • Modelski G (1990) Is world politics evolutionary learning?. International organization 44, 1, winter

    About Evolution of culture etc.

  • Boulding 1978, ecodynamics, a new theory of societal evolution
  • Boyd R; Richerson PJ (1985) Culture and the evolutionary process. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
  • Csanyi V (1989) Evolutionary systems and society. A general theory of life, mind and culture. Duke University press. Durham and London
  • Donald M (1993) Precis of origins of the modern mind: three stages in the evolution of culture and cognition. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 16, 737- 791
  • Hull DL (1982) The naked meme. In Plotkin HC (ed.) Lear- ning Development and culture, essays in evolutionary epistemology. John Wiley @ Sons.
  • Plotkin HC (ed) n(1982) Learning, development, and cul- ture. Essays in evolutionary epistemology. John Wiley & Sons.
  • Plotkin HC; Odling-Smee FJ (1979) Learning, change and evolution. Advances in the study of behavior 10: 1-41
  • Ruse M (1989) What the philosophy of biology is, essays dedicated to david Hull. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.

    Generally about Evolution, featuring a lot of philosophy about evolution, including evolutionary epistemology

  • Recently I got a message about a new book that is about general systems theory, and evolution. I am not familiar with the contents, but you can visit the www page of the following titel : Iberall, D. Wilkinson, D.White (U. Cal. affiliation), Foundations for Social and Biological Evolution, Progress Toward a Physical Theory of Civilization and of Speciation, CA: Cri-de-Coeur Press, 1993.
  • Campbell DT (1974) Evolutionary epistemology. In Schlipp PA (ED) The philosophy of Karl Popper, The Li brary of Living Philosophers volume XIV.
  • Depew D, and Weber bh (ed), (1986) evolution at a crossroads, the new biology and the new philosophy of science. The MIT Press, Cambridge Mas sachusetts.
  • Goerner SJ (1994) Chaos and the evolving ecological universe. Gordon and Breach.
  • Kauffman S (1993) The origins of order. Self-organization and selection in evolution. Oxford University press
  • McShea DW (1991) Complexity and evolution: What eve- rybody knows, Biology and Philosophy 6: 303-324
  • Radnitzky G; Bartly WW [ed](1987) Evolutionary epistemology, rationality and the sociology of knowledge. Open court, La Salle, Illinois. isbn 0-8126-9039-7
  • Waddington CH (1959) Evolutionary systems-animal and hu- man, Nature vol 183, no 4676, june 13

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