Foundations of Social Evolution

by Steven A. Frank

Book Overview

This is a masterly theoretical treatment of one of the central problems in evolutionary biology, the evolution of social cooperation and conflict. Steven Frank tackles the problem with a highly original combination of approaches: game theory, classical models of natural selection, quantitative genetics, and kin selection. He unites these with the best of economic thought: a clear theory of model formation and comparative statics, the development...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0691059349
• ISBN13: 9780691059341
• Release Date: July 1998
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Length: 280 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

A Book for the Specialist

This is a book for mathematically-inclined population and evolutionary biologists and other behavioral scientists. It is not for the layperson. The book is an extended exegesis on Price's equation---like variations and themes. The exposition is a bit rough, but some of the formulations are marvelous.Price's equation is great for dealing with the interaction of structured populations, but there are other important approaches, including developing Markov processes and/or sets of differential equations to capture the dynamics of interacting social groups.