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 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 applying Darwin 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 groundbreaking 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.

About the Author
Geoffrey M. Hodgson is research professor at the University of Hertfordshire Business School, England, and the author or coauthor of over a dozen books, including The Evolution of Institutional Economics and How Economics Forgot History. Thorbjorn Knudsen is professor of strategic organization design at the University of Southern Denmark and has an extensive publication record specializing in evolutionary dynamics and adaptive organizations.

Reviews
"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)"



Book Information
ISBN 9780226005782
Author Geoffrey M. Hodgson
Format Paperback
Page Count 304
Imprint University of Chicago Press
Publisher The University of Chicago Press
Weight(grams) 425g
Dimensions(mm) 22mm * 16mm * 2mm