Darwinism in economics: from analogy to ontology

Hodgson, Geoffrey M.

doi:10.1007/s00191-002-0118-8

Cited by 344 publications

(213 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Selective agencies in the wild similarly set criteria for which adaptations work and which traits do not. Selection remains selection, regardless of who the agents are, which criteria distinguish success from failure, or how inclusive the units are among which selection acts (see also Hodgson 2002).…”

Section: Intentionalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative economics: evolution and the modern economy

Vermeij

2009

J Bioecon

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Comparative economics-the description and underlying explanation of human and nonhuman variations on the relationship between life and its environment-seeks to discover how and to what extent the limitations that apply to some living systems can be overcome in others, including our own economy. It is founded on four phenomena, which collectively explain how life and its economic structures arise, how diversity of form and function come about, and how change occurs. These phenomena are self-organization, emergence (new properties and entities formed when parts combine), selection and adaptation, and feedback between living things and their surroundings. The systems of life vary in patterns of inheritance, the units among which selection takes place, resources, and size; these variables, in turn, affect patterns of history, adaptability, and innovation. Beneath the variation, all living systems are subject to local competition, cooperation, and evolution. Ten distinctive institutions and capacities have been thought to be unique to modern humans: cultural (non-genetic) inheritance of information and adaptations; cooperation among genetically unrelated individuals; markets in which enforceable contracts determine the quantities and prices of goods and services; utility, emergent goals and values informed by stable preferences; intentionality, deliberate action toward a predetermined goal; innovation by designing devices and institutions without historical precedents; symbolic thought; extrasomal extension, work performed beyond internal metabolism; and unsustainable exploitation of resources. These traits and capacities, which confer unprecedented power and reach, occur widely outside the human realm and have evolved independently in many organisms and ecosystems. They accelerate but do not fundamentally alter adaptation and innovation, and reduce but do not eliminate G. J. Vermeij (B) Department of Geology, University of California at Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA e-mail: gjvermeij@ucdavis.edu 123 106 G. J. Vermeij the constraints under which life in a finite world has persisted for three and a half billion years. Future civilization on Earth is therefore unlikely to forge an entirely new world order. Policies and predictions that are inconsistent with these universal realities are likely to fail. In particular: (1) local competition will remain necessary for successful adaptation and innovation; (2) an information-based economy will not replace an energy-based one, and energy use is unlikely to decline; and (3) redundancy of production in multiple sites must not be sacrificed through free trade and elimination of subsidies to achieve greater economic efficiency. Human survival requires that we work with nature, not against it.

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Section: Intentionalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative economics: evolution and the modern economy

Vermeij

2009

J Bioecon

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“…A question that is frequently raised when evolutionary models are considered in the social sciences is, How faithful must they be to the concepts and theories in evolutionary biology? (Hodgson, 2002). Hodgson (1993) remarks that:…”

Section: Evolutionary Thinking In Economics and Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Langton (1984) asserts that ''evolutionary theory is a concatenated system of loose, but apparently true and heuristic propositions … it poses interesting questions, provides clues to their solution and, perhaps most crucially, generates testable hypotheses'' (p. 352). Dawkins (1983), Dennett (1995), and Hodgson (2002) have all argued that Darwin's theory is universal precisely because it specifies the general mechanisms (an ''algorithm'', in Dennett's terms) that is neutral and can be applied to any evolving system (Stoelhorst, 2003). Therefore, ''[E]ven if the detailed mechanisms of change at the social level are quite different from those described in biology, socio-economic evolution is still Darwinian in several fundamental senses'' (Hodgson, 2002, p. 272;italics original).…”

Section: Evolutionary Thinking In Economics and Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several rich literatures draw on evolutionary theory in an effort to better understand organizational and management processes, including work in organizational theory (Aldrich and Ruef, 2006;Hannan and Freeman, 1977), evolutionary economics (Hodgson, 2002;Nelson and Winter, 1982) and strategic management (Burgelman, 1983;Teece and Pisano, 1994). Yet, much of the work in these literatures has little to say about how fundamental evolutionary processes might also be used to enlighten our view of individual moral responsibility as it pertains to work in organizations.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Evolutionary Processes, Moral Luck, and the Ethical Responsibilities of the Manager

Velamuri

Dew

2009

J Bus Ethics

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“…Conversely, authors like Veblen (1898), Georgescu-Roegen (1971), Hayek (1988), andNorth (2005) who have adopted a naturalistic approach to evolutionary economics-but differ widely in most other respects-do not work with analogies to Darwinian concepts at the heuristic level. In contrast, the new approach of Universal Darwinism advocates just such a combination of a heuristic based on an abstract analogy to Darwinian concepts and a naturalistic ontological position (Hodgson 2002;Hodgson and Knudsen 2006). Evolutionary game theory basically ignores the conceptual debates and controversies in evolutionary economics.…”

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confidence: 99%

What is specific about evolutionary economics?

Witt¹

2008

J Evol Econ

184

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Ever since an "evolutionary" perspective on the economy has been suggested, there have been differing, and partly incommensurable, views on what specifically this means. By working out where the differences lie and what motivates them, this paper identifies four major approaches to evolutionary economics. The differences between them can be traced back to opposite positions regarding the basic assumptions about reality and the proper conceptualization of evolution. The same differences can also be found in evolutionary game theory. Achievements of the major approaches to evolutionary economics and their prospects for future research are assessed by means of a peer survey.

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Darwinism in economics: from analogy to ontology

Cited by 344 publications

References 46 publications

Comparative economics: evolution and the modern economy

Comparative economics: evolution and the modern economy

Evolutionary Processes, Moral Luck, and the Ethical Responsibilities of the Manager

What is specific about evolutionary economics?

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