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Rotating the Necker cube: A bioeconomic approach to cooperation and the causal role of synergy in evolution

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  • Peter Corning

Abstract

The paradox of widespread cooperation in an intensely competitive natural world has been a major focus of theory and research in evolutionary biology and related disciplines over the past several decades. While much of the earlier work in this vein was gene-centered and grounded in inclusive fitness (or kin selection) theory, more recent developments suggest that it might also be useful to view cooperation (and biological complexity) from a bioeconomic perspective. Here I will briefly explore the case for a paradigm shift, with special reference to the role of functional synergy as a distinct class of interdependent causal influences in evolution. I will argue that synergies of various kinds have been important drivers for cooperation in living systems at all levels. From this perspective, inclusive fitness and other factors may be enablers for cooperation, but the many exceptions show that genetic relatedness is neither necessary nor sufficient for the emergence of cooperative phenomena. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC. 2013

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  • Peter Corning, 2013. "Rotating the Necker cube: A bioeconomic approach to cooperation and the causal role of synergy in evolution," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 171-193, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbioec:v:15:y:2013:i:2:p:171-193
    DOI: 10.1007/s10818-012-9142-4
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Natural selection; Inclusive fitness; Cooperation; Synergy; Symbiosis; Symbiogenesis; Game theory; Division of labor; Emergence; Group selection; Natural genetic engineering; B00; B49; B59; C71; D03; D64; P00; P13; Q57;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B00 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - General - - - History of Economic Thought, Methodology, and Heterodox Approaches
    • B49 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology - - - Other
    • B59 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Other
    • C71 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Cooperative Games
    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
    • P00 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - General - - - General
    • P13 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Cooperative Enterprises
    • Q57 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Ecological Economics

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