The Biological Nature of the State

1983 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. D. Masters
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
The State ◽  
Scientific Terminology ◽  
Inclusive Fitness Theory ◽  
The Commons ◽  
Law And Justice ◽  
Rational Actor Models

The origin of the state, long at the center of political science, can be greatly illuminated by the contemporary approach in evolutionary biology known as “inclusive fitness theory.” Natural selection is now analyzed using cost-benefit models akin to rational actor models in economics, game theory, and collective choice theory. The utility of integrating these approaches is illustrated by using the Prisoner's Dilemma and the Tragedy of the Commons to outline a general model for the evolution of political and legal institutions. This perspective also shows how traditional political philosophers explored “archetypical” problems that are easily translated into scientific terminology. It is thus possible to link biology to the study of human behavior in a nonreductionist manner, thereby generating new empirical hypotheses concerning the environmental correlates of social norms. Ultimately, such a unification of the natural and social sciences points to a return to the classical view that law and justice are not matters of pure convention, but rather are grounded on what is right “according to nature.”

scholarly journals The validity and value of inclusive fitness theory

2011 ◽  
Vol 278 (1723) ◽  
pp. 3313-3320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew F. G. Bourke
Keyword(s):  
Kin Selection ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Social Evolution ◽  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Alternative Theory ◽  
Selection Theory ◽  
Inclusive Fitness Theory ◽  
Evolution Of Eusociality ◽  
Natural Selection Theory

Social evolution is a central topic in evolutionary biology, with the evolution of eusociality (societies with altruistic, non-reproductive helpers) representing a long-standing evolutionary conundrum. Recent critiques have questioned the validity of the leading theory for explaining social evolution and eusociality, namely inclusive fitness (kin selection) theory. I review recent and past literature to argue that these critiques do not succeed. Inclusive fitness theory has added fundamental insights to natural selection theory. These are the realization that selection on a gene for social behaviour depends on its effects on co-bearers, the explanation of social behaviours as unalike as altruism and selfishness using the same underlying parameters, and the explanation of within-group conflict in terms of non-coinciding inclusive fitness optima. A proposed alternative theory for eusocial evolution assumes mistakenly that workers' interests are subordinate to the queen's, contains no new elements and fails to make novel predictions. The haplodiploidy hypothesis has yet to be rigorously tested and positive relatedness within diploid eusocial societies supports inclusive fitness theory. The theory has made unique, falsifiable predictions that have been confirmed, and its evidence base is extensive and robust. Hence, inclusive fitness theory deserves to keep its position as the leading theory for social evolution.

scholarly journals Persistent Misunderstandings of Inclusive Fitness and Kin Selection: Their Ubiquitous Appearance in Social Psychology Textbooks

2007 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 147470490700500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin H. Park
Keyword(s):  
Social Psychology ◽  
Adaptive Behavior ◽  
Kin Selection ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Scientific Theories ◽  
Selection Theory ◽  
Inclusive Fitness Theory ◽  
Undergraduate Psychology

Inclusive fitness theory and kin selection theory are among the most recognizable theories associated with evolutionary biology and psychology—they are also among the most widely misunderstood. The problem begins early, in undergraduate psychology textbooks. Here, ten social psychology textbooks were reviewed, and they were all found to contain at least one form of misunderstanding. Because these misunderstandings appear to result partly from people's intuitions about kinship and adaptive behavior (which are not necessarily in line with the scientific theories), writers must be especially vigilant in order to combat the misunderstandings.

scholarly journals Do Somatic Cells Really Sacrifice Themselves? Why an Appeal to Coercion May be a Helpful Strategy in Explaining the Evolution of Multicellularity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Stencel ◽  
Javier Suárez
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Somatic Cells ◽  
Next Generation ◽  
Inclusive Fitness Theory ◽  
Germline Cells ◽  
Multicellular Organisms

AbstractAn understanding of the factors behind the evolution of multicellularity is one of today’s frontiers in evolutionary biology. This is because multicellular organisms are made of one subset of cells with the capacity to transmit genes to the next generation (germline cells) and another subset responsible for maintaining the functionality of the organism, but incapable of transmitting genes to the next generation (somatic cells). The question arises: why do somatic cells sacrifice their lives for the sake of germline cells? How is germ/soma separation maintained? One conventional answer refers to inclusive fitness theory, according to which somatic cells sacrifice themselves altruistically, because in so doing they enhance the transmission of their genes by virtue of their genetic relatedness to germline cells. In the present article we will argue that this explanation ignores the key role of policing mechanisms in maintaining the germ/soma divide. Based on the pervasiveness of the latter, we argue that the role of altruistic mechanisms in the evolution of multicellularity is limited and that our understanding of this evolution must be enriched through the consideration of coercion mechanisms.

Social Evolution, Hamilton’s Rule, and Inclusive Fitness

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samir Okasha
Keyword(s):  
Social Behaviour ◽  
Social Evolution ◽  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Popular Approach ◽  
Hamilton’S Rule ◽  
Inclusive Fitness Theory ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Encounters ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Hamilton's Rule

Inclusive fitness theory, originally due to W. D. Hamilton, is a popular approach to the study of social evolution, but shrouded in controversy. The theory contains two distinct aspects: Hamilton’s rule (rB > C); and the idea that individuals will behave as if trying to maximize their inclusive fitness in social encounters. These two aspects of the theory are logically separable but often run together. A generalized version of Hamilton’s rule can be formulated that is always true, though whether it is causally meaningful is debatable. However, the individual maximization claim only holds true if the payoffs from the social encounter are additive. The notion that inclusive fitness is the ‘goal’ of individuals’ social behaviour is less robust than some of its advocates acknowledge.

Commoning or being commoned? Institutions, politics, and the role of the state in collective housing policy in Bangkok, Thailand

2021 ◽  
pp. 147309522110373
Author(s):  
Hayden Shelby
Keyword(s):  
Land Tenure ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
The State ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
Slum Upgrading ◽  
The Commons ◽  
Collective Housing ◽  
Urban Commons ◽  
Active Promoter

This article theorizes the potential roles of the state in the urban commons through an analysis of a slum upgrading program in Thailand that employs collective forms of land tenure. In examining the transformation of the program from a grassroots movement to a “best practice” policy, the article demonstrates how the state has expanded from mere enabler of the commons to active promoter. In the process, the role of many residents has evolved from actively creating the institutions of collective governance— commoning—to adopting institutions prescribed by the state— being commoned. However, by comparing the work to two different groups of communities who work within the context of the policy, the article illustrates how active commoning can still take place in such contexts.

Reproductive Autonomy and Evolutionary Biology: A Regulatory Framework for Trait-Selection Technologies

1993 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 187-231
Author(s):  
Owen D. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Reproductive Strategies ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Social Values ◽  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Regulatory System ◽  
Regulatory Framework ◽  
Reproductive Autonomy ◽  
Future Child

The Constitution protects, in some measure, each person's autonomy in making basic decisions about family, parenthood, and procreation. This Article examines the extent to which courts should protect from government intrusions a parent's access to technologies that influence specific characteristics of offspring. Beginning with Supreme Court opinions that articulate constitutional and social values regarding reproductive autonomy, the Article explores how important new insights from evolutionary biology may supplement an understanding of Human procreation. Specifically, the Article explains how trait selection can constitute an important part of larger “reproductive strategies” that powerfully affect an individual's “inclusive fitness” (itself a measure of reproductive success). It concludes that access to trait-selection technologies should receive the same federal protection from government intrusions as that afforded access to abortion. It proposes the first limit to that protection, however, when a parent seeks to select for a trait, or to use a technique, that would be clearly and significantly damaging to the future child. The Article subsequently divides the use of trait-selection technologies (TSTs) into eight contexts and proposes a preliminary framework by which a regulatory system could legitimately distinguish among them.

scholarly journals Inclusive Fitness Theory from Darwin to Hamilton

Genetics ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 176 (3) ◽  
pp. 1375-1380
Author(s):  
Lee Alan Dugatkin
Keyword(s):  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Inclusive Fitness Theory

Politische Kultur und Rechtsbewußtsein in Ostdeutschland-Folgen der Diktatur

1995 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 174-187
Author(s):  
Ehrhart Neubert
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
East Germany ◽  
The State ◽  
State Law ◽  
Constitutional State ◽  
Politische Kultur ◽  
State Grants ◽  
Law And Justice ◽  
The Church

Abstract The author examines the consequences of dictatorship upon the conciousness of law and justice in the postsocialist society of East-Germany. This society and even the Church are characterized by a moralizing thinking of justice- according to the German tradition of paternalistic state: the state grants justice and represents community. Ever after theseGermans regard themselves as inferiors, who want to get adjusted into a disciplined order. This leeds to disappointments and radical criticism of the democratic constitutional state. Law is not able to realize ultimatejustice. For the aceptance ofthe constitutional state it will be necessary to restore civil society and overcome a fundamentalistic criticism of civilisation.

scholarly journals War and peace: social interactions in infections

2014 ◽  
Vol 369 (1642) ◽  
pp. 20130365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen C. Leggett ◽  
Sam P. Brown ◽  
Sarah E. Reece
Keyword(s):  
Species Interactions ◽  
Disease Ecology ◽  
Social Evolution ◽  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Experimental Tests ◽  
Microbial Pathogens ◽  
Emergent Properties ◽  
Social Strategies ◽  
Inclusive Fitness Theory ◽  
Social Behaviours

One of the most striking facts about parasites and microbial pathogens that has emerged in the fields of social evolution and disease ecology in the past few decades is that these simple organisms have complex social lives, indulging in a variety of cooperative, communicative and coordinated behaviours. These organisms have provided elegant experimental tests of the importance of relatedness, kin discrimination, cooperation and competition, in driving the evolution of social strategies. Here, we briefly review the social behaviours of parasites and microbial pathogens, including their contributions to virulence, and outline how inclusive fitness theory has helped to explain their evolution. We then take a mechanistically inspired ‘bottom-up’ approach, discussing how key aspects of the ways in which parasites and pathogens exploit hosts, namely public goods, mobile elements, phenotypic plasticity, spatial structure and multi-species interactions, contribute to the emergent properties of virulence and transmission. We argue that unravelling the complexities of within-host ecology is interesting in its own right, and also needs to be better incorporated into theoretical evolution studies if social behaviours are to be understood and used to control the spread and severity of infectious diseases.

State of emergency in Poland: constitutional regulation and “hybrid” nature during the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 41-67
Author(s):  
Valentina Chekharina
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Legal Regime ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Hybrid State ◽  
Political Interests ◽  
The World ◽  
Constitutional Tribunal ◽  
Law And Justice ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Emergency Measures

The COVID-19 pandemic became widespread across the world throughout 2020 and 2021 in an emergency that gravely impacted the health and lives of people around the world. States have taken exceptional measures to combat the pandemic, including controversial decisions to introduce emergency regimes, which have been questioned in regards to their compliance with constitutional regulations. The fight against the COVID-19 pandemic requires special measures, however they must remain within the constitutional framework. Consequently, the pandemic and its effect upon the legality of regimes in a state of emergency has captured the attention of legal scholars. The aim of this study is to analyse the constitutional regulation of the state of emergency in the Republic of Poland which was introduced in the country during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Poland, an emergency regime was introduced following an order by the Minister of Health. However the state of emergency (here, natural disaster) as stated by the Constitution was not introduced, although, according to analysts, some state bodies and officials had confirmed that all the necessary conditions for this were met. On 2 March 2020, the so-called Special Law on Coronavirus was adopted, followed by other regulations to fight the pandemic. These analysts stated that the measures introduced by the new acts corresponded to a legal regime containing the constitutional characteristics of a state of emergency, but lacked the appropriate constitutional procedure for their introduction. Presidential elections were held at this time, however legally they cannot be held during a state of emergency, as it indicates the presence of political interests in the choice of the regime. The unconstitutional procedure of the introduction of emergency measures alongside their characteristics of the state of emergency make it possible to consider the epidemic regime introduced in Poland a “hybrid” state of emergency, which is not detailed by the Constitution or legislation. On this basis, the study concludes that reasons behind the unconstitutional response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland can be found in both the Constitution, and in the manifestations of the crisis of the constitutional and legal system, which began with the reform of Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal by the ruling Law and Justice party in 2015.

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