Integration of Cosmic, Biological, and Social Evolution
* Book: Evolution: Cosmic, Biological, and Social. Vol 1. of the Evolution Almanac. Edited by Leonid E. Grinin, Robert L. Carneiro, Аndrey V. Korotayev, Fred Spier. Uchitel, 2011.
URL = https://www.sociostudies.org/almanac/evolution/cbas/
Description
This issue initiates the series of almanac under the common title Evolution, which is supposed to unite researchers working in all fields of evolutionary studies.
"The present issue may be regarded as a collective effort dedicated to the search for the contours and specifics of evolutionary mega-paradigms. In addition, in this issue we have tried to present articles that study problems on various scales. Yet in general this issue deals with studies on very large temporal and spatial scales, in other words: the issues of mega- and macroevolution."
(https://www.sociostudies.org/almanac/evolution/cbas/)
Contents
ToC
Universal Evolution
- Grinin, Leonid; Korotayev, Andrey; Carneiro, Robert L.; Spier, Fred
Introduction. Evolutionary Megaparadigm: Potential, Problems, Perspectives
- Spier, Fred
How Big History Works: Energy Flows and the Rise and Demise of Complexity
- Carneiro, Robert L.
Stellar Evolution and Social Evolution: A Study in Parallel Processes
Biological and Social forms of Evolution: Connections and Comparisons
- Snooks, Graeme D.
Constructing a General Theory of Life: The Dynamics of Human and Non-human Systems
- Lekevičius, Edmundas
Ecological Darwinism or Preliminary Answers to Some Crucial though Seldom Asked Questions
- Reznikova, Zhanna
Evolutionary and Behavioural Aspects of Altruism in Animal Communities: Is There Room for Intelligence?
- Grinin, Leonid; Markov, Alexander V.; Korotayev, Andrey
Biological and Social Aromorphoses: A Comparison between Two Forms of Macroevolution
Aspects of Social Evolution
- Bondarenko, Dmitri M.; Grinin, Leonid; Korotayev, Andrey
Social Evolution: Alternatives and Variations (Introduction)
- Chase-Dunn, Christopher
Evolution of Nested Networks in the Prehistoric U.S. Southwest: A Comparative World-Systems Approach
- Heylighen, Francis
Conceptions of a Global Brain: An Historical Review
Excerpt
Evolution: History of the Concept
By Leonid Grinin, Leonid; Andrey Korotayev, et al. :
"The formulation of the first scientific theories of the evolution of nature began at least two centuries ago. However, the philosophical roots of evolutionary ideas are much older (see, e.g., Vorontsov 1999; Asmus 2001; Chanyshev 1976, 2001; Barg 1987; Ilyushechkin 1996; Losev 1977; Nisbet 1980). An incipient understanding of the historical dimension of natural processes can already be found among the ancient Greeks (e.g., Heraclitus, Anaximander, Empedocles, etc.). In the late Modern period these ideas strengthened in conjunction with the idea that historical changes in nature can be described with the aid of rigorous laws. This type of thinking created the evolutionary approach in science. However, these ideas penetrated rather slowly in various branches of science. Nevertheless, supported by a growing body of firm evidence, the evolutionary approach became gradually established during this period in geology, cosmology, biology and social sciences.
It is commonly believed that the concept of evolution was first formulated by Charles Darwin, but that was not the case. Although it is not generally known, Darwin did not even use the word ‘evolution’ in the first five editions of The Origin of Species. Not until the 6th edition, published in 1872, did he introduce the term into his text. Moreover, he used it only half a dozen times, and with no more of a definition than ‘descent with modification’.
It was Herbert Spencer who, in First Principles – a book published ten years before the 6th edition of The Origin – introduced the term into scientific discourse. Stone by stone, over the seven chapters that make up the heart of that book, Spencer carefully built up the concept of evolution, culminating in his classic definition: ‘Evolution is a change from an indefinite, incoherent homogeneity, to a definite, coherent heterogeneity, through continuous differentiations and integrations’ (1862: 216).[1]
And – that is especially important for our subject – whereas Darwin applied evolution exclusively to the world of life, Spencer saw it as a process of universal application, characterizing all domains of nature.
There followed a series of works – The Principles of Biology (1864–1867), The Principles of Psychology (1870–1872), and The Principles of Sociology (1876–1896) in which Spencer showed, in great detail, how evolution had manifested itself in each of these fields. Already in the 19th century it was possible to see Darwinian and Spencerian evolution as two contrasting – and indeed competing – interpretations of the kinds of change phenomena had undergone.
Thus, after works of Darwin and especially Spencer in the final decades of the 19th century the idea of evolution in nature and society, together with the notion of progress, became a major component of not only science and philosophy, but also of social consciousness in general,[4] leading to an overall picture of the world development. In the second half of the 20th century the related ideas of historism and evolutionism had penetrated rather deeply into natural sciences such as physics and chemistry.
While this respectable scientific tradition has quite ancient roots, even today there is only a rather limited number of studies that analyze the evolution of abiotic, biological, and social systems as a single process."