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      • Synergistic Selection: How Cooperation Has Shaped Evolution and the Rise of Humankind
      • The Fair Society: The Science of Human Nature and the Pursuit of Social Justice
      • Holistic Darwinism: Synergy, Cybernetics, and the Bioeconomics of Evolution
      • The Synergism Hypothesis: A Theory of Progressive Evolution
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  • Home
  • About
  • Publications
    • Publications List, 1969-2025
    • Books
      • Synergistic Selection: How Cooperation Has Shaped Evolution and the Rise of Humankind
      • The Fair Society: The Science of Human Nature and the Pursuit of Social Justice
      • Holistic Darwinism: Synergy, Cybernetics, and the Bioeconomics of Evolution
      • The Synergism Hypothesis: A Theory of Progressive Evolution
      • Nature’s Magic
    • Online Publications
    • Outtakes
    • Essays on Social Justice
    • Commentaries
    • Book Reviews
  • Topics
    • Emergence
    • Evolution
    • Information Theory
    • Social Justice
    • Synergistic Selection
    • Synergy
    • Thermodynamics
  • Blog
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Topics

View a list of publications and posts on any of the following topics:
 
Emergence
Evolution
Information Theory
Social Justice
Synergistic Selection
Synergy
Thermodynamics

Evolution ‘On Purpose’: Teleonomy in Living Systems

Evolution ‘On Purpose’: Teleonomy in Living Systems

In this volume, a number of biologists and philosophers of science, greatly expand on the thesis that “teleonomy” (“internal” purposiveness and goal-directedness) is a unique and important property of living organisms and that it has exerted a major influence over the course of evolutionary history.

Superorganism

Superorganism

As evidence of our global survival crisis continues to mount, the expression “too little, too late” comes to mind. We all live in an interdependent world which has an increasingly shared fate. We are participants in an emerging global “superorganism” that is dependent on close cooperation.

Synergistic Selection

Synergistic Selection Book Cover

Synergistic Selection is being hailed as a major contribution to what is perhaps the greatest shift in our understanding of evolution since The Origin of Species. As Corning puts it: “Nothing about the evolution of biological complexity makes sense except in the light of synergy.... One of the great take-home lessons from the epic of evolution is that cooperation produces synergy, and synergy is the way forward. The arc of evolution bends toward synergy.”

The Fair Society

The Fair Society

The Fair Society calls for a new social contract based on three biologically-grounded fairness principles – equality in relation to our “basic needs,” equity in providing rewards for merit, and reciprocity to repay the benefits we receive from others and society.

Holistic Darwinism

Holistic Darwinism Book Cover

Calls for a paradigm shift, a refocusing of evolutionary biology to address the rise of complex systems over time and their emergence as distinct units of selection, with special reference to the causal role of synergy, thermodynamics, information theory, and the bioeconomic influences underlying evolutionary change.

Nature’s Magic

Nature's Way Book Cover

Nature’s Magic presents a bold new vision of the evolutionary process – from the Big Bang to the 21st century. Synergy of various kinds is not only a ubiquitous aspect of the natural world but it has also been a wellspring of creativity and the “driver” of the broad evolutionary trend toward increased complexity, in nature and in human societies alike.

Synergism Hypothesis

Synergism Hypothesis Book Cover

A major causal theory of complexity in evolution at all levels, based on the functional advantages arising from synergistic effects of varying kinds.

Copyright Notice

All of the papers included at this site have previously been copyrighted in various print media, including (mostly) professional conference proceedings and scholarly journals. These may not be reproduced for commercial purposes without prior authorization. "Commentaries" by ISCS associates will also be posted from time to time. These will include more informal "op-ed" material (and some short items for various publications) on complexity and complex systems, including applications to contemporary economic, social and political concerns.

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