Darwin's Conjecture

The Search for General Principles of Social and Economic Evolution

Geoffrey M Hodgson author Thorbj¿rn Knudsen author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:The University of Chicago Press

Published:30th Nov '10

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Darwin's Conjecture cover

Of paramount importance to the natural sciences, the principles of Darwinism, which involve variation, inheritance, and selection, are increasingly of interest to social scientists as well. But no one has provided a truly rigorous account of how the principles apply to the evolution of human society - until now. In "Darwin's Conjecture", Geoffrey M. Hodgson and Thorbjorn Knudsen reveal how the British naturalist's core concepts apply to a wide range of phenomena, including business practices, legal systems, technology, and even science itself. They also critique some prominent objections to the application of Darwinism to social science, arguing that ultimately Darwinism functions as a general theoretical framework for stimulating further inquiry. Social scientists who adopt a Darwinian approach, they contend, can then use it to frame and help develop new explanatory theories and predictive models. This truly pathbreaking work at long last makes the powerful conceptual tools of Darwin available to the social sciences and will be welcomed by scholars and students from a range of disciplines.

"A long-awaited and desperately needed guide to why the social sciences should take Darwin seriously. Erudite, lucidly written - a veritable tour de force." - Robin I. M. Dunbar, University of Oxford"

ISBN: 9780226346908

Dimensions: 23mm x 16mm x 2mm

Weight: 539g

304 pages