Brian Skyrms presents eighteen essays which apply adaptive dynamics (of cultural evolution and individual learning) to social theory. Altruism, spite, fairness, trust, division of labor, and signaling are treated from this perspective. Correlation is seen to be of fundamental importance. Interactions with neighbors in space, on static networks, and on co-evolving dynamics networks are investigated. Spontaneous emergence of social structure and of signaling systems are examined in the context of learning dynamics.
Recenzijas
The book collects important contributions of a leading scientist in evolutionary game theory and drives us to study correlation devices further as possible solutions for the problems of human cooperation and of the social contract with analytical and simulation tools. * Kįroly Takįcs, Corvinus University of Budapest, Journal of Artificial Societies * It is rewarding and exemplifies a good way of doing formal philosophy. It sheds light on what evolutionary approaches, especially simulations, can and cannot do for philosophy. But mostly, it highlights the fact that our understanding of social phenomena cannot be complete if we neglect a dynamical point of view ... We may not need only books like this in philosophy; but we need some, and we certainly need more of them. And if the recent literature is any indication, we will have them -- in no small part due to Skyrms' remarkable, pioneering work * Cédric Paternotte, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews * Social Dynamics offers a careful, informed exploration of the relevant ones, as well as discussions of their explanatory import. No one interested in the evolution of sociality should ignore it, if only to know what it takes to carry out a thorough evolutionary investigation. * Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews Online *
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vii | |
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ix | |
| Acknowledgments |
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xi | |
| Introduction |
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xiii | |
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Part I Correlation and the Social Contract |
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1 | (26) |
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1 Evolution and the Social Contract |
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3 | (24) |
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Part II Importance of Dynamics |
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27 | (120) |
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2 Trust, Risk, and the Social Contract |
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31 | (7) |
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3 Bargaining with Neighbors: Is Justice Contagious? |
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38 | (12) |
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4 Stability and Explanatory Significance of Some Simple Evolutionary Models |
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50 | (23) |
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5 Dynamics of Conformist Bias |
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73 | (10) |
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6 Chaos and the Explanatory Significance of Equilibrium: Strange Attractors in Evolutionary Game Dynamics |
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83 | (27) |
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7 Evolutionary Dynamics of Collective Action in N-person Stag Hunt Dilemmas |
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110 | (18) |
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8 Learning to Take Turns: The Basics |
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128 | (7) |
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9 Evolutionary Considerations in the Framing of Social Norms |
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135 | (12) |
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Part III Dynamic Networks |
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147 | (74) |
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149 | (14) |
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11 A Dynamic Model of Social Network Formation |
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163 | (24) |
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12 Network Formation by Reinforcement Learning: The Long and the Medium Run |
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187 | (18) |
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13 Time to Absorption in Discounted Reinforcement Models |
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205 | (16) |
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Part IV Dynamics of Signals |
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221 | (116) |
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14 Learning to Signal: Analysis of a Micro-level Reinforcement Model |
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225 | (25) |
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250 | (24) |
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16 Signals, Evolution, and the Explanatory Power of Transient Information |
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274 | (24) |
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17 Co-Evolution of Pre-play Signaling and Cooperation |
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298 | (16) |
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18 Evolution of Signaling Systems with Multiple Senders and Receivers |
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314 | (23) |
| Index |
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337 | |
Brian Skyrms is Distinguished Professor of Logic and Philosophy of Science and Economics at the University of California, Irvine. His interests cover a range of topics, including the evolution of conventions, the social contract, inductive logic, decision theory, rational deliberation, the metaphysics of logical atomism, causality, and truth. He is the author of Signals: Evolution, Learning, and Information (OUP, 2010) and From Zeno to Arbitrage: Essays on Quantity. Coherence, and Induction (OUP, 2012).
