25 February 2013, 11:00
Ernst-Abbe-Platz 2, seminar room 3423

Social-bio-physical isomorphisms. Neutral evolution in social processes and Newtonian equivalences in genetic evolution

Dr. Pablo Razeto-Barry (Instituto de Filosofía y Ciencias de la Complejidad IFICC, Santiago, Chile)

In this talk I will argue that (i) there exists an important isomorphism between Newton’s mechanics, evolutionary genetics and long-term social evolution; (ii) this isomorphism allows us to describe an analogy between Newton’s principle of equivalence and Kimura’s principle of invariance of the molecular clock; (iii) the analogy in principle may allow the formalization of any evolutionary theory in terms of a theory of forces and make general predictions about any kind of evolutionary process; (iv) building upon theories of cultural evolution, the theory of the wisdom of crowds, and Boserupian theories of demographic growth, it is possible to apply this theory to social evolution.  Finally, I contrast this theory with empirical data.