Handbook on Evolution and Society Toward an Evolutionary Social Science [Hardcover]

Handbook on Evolution and Societybrings together original chapters by prominent scholars who have been instrumental in the revival of evolutionary theorizing and research in the social sciences over the last twenty-five years. Previously unpublished essays provide up-to-date, critical surveys of recent research and key debates. The contributors discuss early challenges posed by sociobiology, the rise of evolutionary psychology, the more conflicted response of evolutionary sociology to sociobiology, and evolutionary psychology. Chapters address the application and limitations of Darwinian ideas in the social sciences. Prominent authors come from a variety of disciplines in ecology, biology, primatology, psychology, sociology, and the humanities. The most comprehensive resource available, this vital collection demonstrates to scholars and students the new ways in which evolutionary approaches, ultimately derived from biology, are influencing the diverse social sciences and humanities.

Part One: General Issues in Evolutionary Analysis in the Social Sciences
1Neo-Darwinian Evolutionary Theory and Sociology: Throwing a New Light on an Old Path
Richard Machalek and Michael W. Martin
2The Biological Character of Social Theory
Alexander Rosenberg
3Modes of Variation and Their Implications for an Extended Evolutionary Synthesis
Marion Blute
4Evolutionary Transitions in Individuality and Selection in Societal Evolution
Matthew B. Dunn
5The Prospects and Limitations of Evolutionary Theorizing in the Social Sciences
Jonathan H. Turner and Alexandra Maryanski
Part Two: Sociobiology and Evolutionary Psychology
6Yanomam??: The Sociobiology People
Napoleon A. Chagnon and Shane J. Macfarlan