The Synergism Hypothesis

The Synergism Hypothesis PDF Author: Peter A. Corning
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 520

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book represents a major theoretical synthesis between the life sciences and the social sciences. Peter Corning shows that the selective advantages arising from various kinds of cooperation - from single-celled creatures to wolf packs to modern nation-states - are the cause of the directional aspect of evolutionary history, that is, the progressive emergence of more complex, hierarchically organized systems in the biological , cultural, and political realms. The Synergism Hypothesis spans a vast intellectual and scientific territory and speaks to the central concerns of evolutionary biology, sociobiology, anthropology, psychology, economics, sociology, and political science. It is an extraordinary contribution, which should influence all future discussions of why we behave the way we do. -- from back cover.

The Synergism Hypothesis

The Synergism Hypothesis PDF Author: Peter A. Corning
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 520

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book represents a major theoretical synthesis between the life sciences and the social sciences. Peter Corning shows that the selective advantages arising from various kinds of cooperation - from single-celled creatures to wolf packs to modern nation-states - are the cause of the directional aspect of evolutionary history, that is, the progressive emergence of more complex, hierarchically organized systems in the biological , cultural, and political realms. The Synergism Hypothesis spans a vast intellectual and scientific territory and speaks to the central concerns of evolutionary biology, sociobiology, anthropology, psychology, economics, sociology, and political science. It is an extraordinary contribution, which should influence all future discussions of why we behave the way we do. -- from back cover.

Holistic Darwinism

Holistic Darwinism PDF Author: Peter Corning
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226116336
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 555

Get Book Here

Book Description
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.

Synergistic Selection: How Cooperation Has Shaped Evolution And The Rise Of Humankind

Synergistic Selection: How Cooperation Has Shaped Evolution And The Rise Of Humankind PDF Author: Peter A Corning
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9813230959
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 302

Get Book Here

Book Description
'Nothing about the evolution of biological complexity makes sense except in the light of synergy.' Peter Corning's new book is being hailed as a major contribution to what is perhaps the greatest shift in our understanding of evolution since The Origin of Species. It's a tour de force that takes us on a synergy-guided tour of the history of life. As Corning puts it, 'life on Earth has been a synergistic phenomenon from the get go.' Corning also shows how synergy has been a key to human evolution, including the rise of complex modern societies. 'Cooperation may have been the vehicle, but synergy was the driver.' As we now face a tipping point and another major transition in evolution, Corning offers us a synergy-based road-map to the future. 'One of the great take-home lessons from the epic of evolution is that cooperation produces synergy, and synergy is the way forward. The arc of evolution bends toward synergy.'Related Link(s)

Nature's Magic

Nature's Magic PDF Author: Peter Corning
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9781139442183
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 476

Get Book Here

Book Description
Nature's Magic presents a bold 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.

Empirical Studies in Applied Economics

Empirical Studies in Applied Economics PDF Author: Jeffrey A. Dubin
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461514614
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 228

Get Book Here

Book Description
Empirical Studies In Applied Economics presents nine previously unpublished analyses in monograph form. In this work, the topics are presented so that each chapter stands on its own. The emphasis is on the applications but attention is also given to the econometric and statistical issues for advanced readers. Econometric methods include multivariate regression analysis, limited dependent variable analysis, and other maximum likelihood techniques. The empirical topics include the measurement of competition and market power in natural gas transportation markets and in the pharmaceutical market for chemotherapy drugs. Additional topics include an empirical analysis of NFL football demand, the accuracy of an econometric model for mail demand, and the allocation of police services in rural Alaska. Other chapters consider the valuation of technology patents and the determination of patent scope, duration, and reasonable royalty, and the reaction of financial markets to health scares in the fast-food industry. Finally, two chapters are devoted to the theory and testing of synergistic health effects from the combined exposure to asbestos and cigarette smoking.

Developing a Protocol for Observational Comparative Effectiveness Research: A User's Guide

Developing a Protocol for Observational Comparative Effectiveness Research: A User's Guide PDF Author: Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (U.S.)
Publisher: Government Printing Office
ISBN: 1587634236
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 236

Get Book Here

Book Description
This User’s Guide is a resource for investigators and stakeholders who develop and review observational comparative effectiveness research protocols. It explains how to (1) identify key considerations and best practices for research design; (2) build a protocol based on these standards and best practices; and (3) judge the adequacy and completeness of a protocol. Eleven chapters cover all aspects of research design, including: developing study objectives, defining and refining study questions, addressing the heterogeneity of treatment effect, characterizing exposure, selecting a comparator, defining and measuring outcomes, and identifying optimal data sources. Checklists of guidance and key considerations for protocols are provided at the end of each chapter. The User’s Guide was created by researchers affiliated with AHRQ’s Effective Health Care Program, particularly those who participated in AHRQ’s DEcIDE (Developing Evidence to Inform Decisions About Effectiveness) program. Chapters were subject to multiple internal and external independent reviews. More more information, please consult the Agency website: www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov)

First Complex Systems Digital Campus World E-Conference 2015

First Complex Systems Digital Campus World E-Conference 2015 PDF Author: Paul Bourgine
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319459015
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 407

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book contains the proceedings as well as invited papers for the first annual conference of the UNESCO Unitwin Complex System Digital Campus (CSDC), which is an international initiative gathering 120 Universities on four continents, and structured in ten E-Departments. First Complex Systems Digital Campus World E-Conference 2015 features chapters from the latest research results on theoretical questions of complex systems and their experimental domains. The content contained bridges the gap between the individual and the collective within complex systems science and new integrative sciences on topics such as: genes to organisms to ecosystems, atoms to materials to products, and digital media to the Internet. The conference breaks new ground through a dedicated video-conferencing system – a concept at the heart of the international UNESCO UniTwin, embracing scientists from low-income and distant countries. This book promotes an integrated system of research, education, and training. It also aims at contributing to global development by taking into account its social, economic, and cultural dimensions. First Complex Systems Digital Campus World E-Conference 2015 will appeal to students and researchers working in the fields of complex systems, statistical physics, computational intelligence, and biological physics.

Darwin's Conjecture

Darwin's Conjecture PDF Author: Geoffrey M. Hodgson
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226346900
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 303

Get Book Here

Book Description
A theoretical study dealing chiefly with matters of definition and clarification of terms and concepts involved in using Darwinian notions to model social phenomena.

The Fair Society

The Fair Society PDF Author: Peter Corning
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226116271
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 253

Get Book Here

Book Description
We've been told, again and again, that life is unfair. But what if we're wrong simply to resign ourselves to this situation? Drawing on the evidence from our evolutionary history and the emergent science of human nature, this title shows that we have an innate sense of fairness.

Ocean Acidification

Ocean Acidification PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 030916155X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 200

Get Book Here

Book Description
The ocean has absorbed a significant portion of all human-made carbon dioxide emissions. This benefits human society by moderating the rate of climate change, but also causes unprecedented changes to ocean chemistry. Carbon dioxide taken up by the ocean decreases the pH of the water and leads to a suite of chemical changes collectively known as ocean acidification. The long term consequences of ocean acidification are not known, but are expected to result in changes to many ecosystems and the services they provide to society. Ocean Acidification: A National Strategy to Meet the Challenges of a Changing Ocean reviews the current state of knowledge, explores gaps in understanding, and identifies several key findings. Like climate change, ocean acidification is a growing global problem that will intensify with continued CO2 emissions and has the potential to change marine ecosystems and affect benefits to society. The federal government has taken positive initial steps by developing a national ocean acidification program, but more information is needed to fully understand and address the threat that ocean acidification may pose to marine ecosystems and the services they provide. In addition, a global observation network of chemical and biological sensors is needed to monitor changes in ocean conditions attributable to acidification.