Domains and Major Transitions of Social Evolution

Evolutionary change is usually incremental and continuous, but some increases in organizational complexity have been radical and divisive. Inclusive fitness theory explains cooperation and conflict in societies of animals and free-living cells, but it should also capture how major transitions originated. Domains and Major Transitions of Social Evolution develops the idea that major evolutionary transitions involved new levels of informational closure that moved beyond looser partnerships. The author argues that the major transitions required maximal kinship in simple ancestors, not conflict reduction in already elaborate societies.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 320 pages
Publication date: 03 November 2022
Publisher: Oxford University Press

Evolutionary change often progresses incrementally and continuously, although certain advancements in organizational complexity have been profound and divisive. Evolutionary biologists, who refer to these events as "major transitions," have sometimes overlooked the novelty of these advances, which involved new forms of pairwise commitment that subjugated previously independent agents. Inclusive fitness theory, which effectively explains cooperation and conflict in societies of animals and free-living cells, has yet to fully explain how these major transitions originated. These transitions involved a progression from prokaryote cells to eukaryote cells, the emergence of differentiated multicellularity, and the formation of colonies with specialized queen and worker castes. To date, no attempt has been made to apply inclusive fitness principles to understanding the origins of these significant events.

In his book, "Domains and Major Transitions of Social Evolution," the author develops the idea that major evolutionary transitions involved new levels of informational closure that went beyond looser partnerships. Early neo-Darwinians grasped this principle, but later social gradient thinking obscured the discontinuity of life's fundamental organizational transitions. The author argues that the major transitions required maximal kinship in simple ancestors, rather than conflict reduction in already elaborate societies. By reviewing over a century of literature, the author makes testable predictions, suggesting that open societies and closed organisms require distinct inclusive fitness explanations. It appears that only human ancestors lived in societies that were already complex before our major cultural transition occurred. Therefore, we should refrain from imposing our own social history's trajectory on the rest of nature.

This thought-provoking text is suitable for graduate-level students enrolled in courses in evolutionary biology. It provides a comprehensive and insightful exploration of the origins and implications of major evolutionary transitions, shedding light on the complex interplay between cooperation, conflict, and the evolution of social structures.

Weight: 664g
Dimension: 189 x 246 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780198746188