
Ecological-Evolutionary Theory
Principles and Applications
Gerhard Lenski(Author)
Routledge (Publisher)
1st Edition
Published on 15. May 2005
Book
Hardback
270 pages
978-1-59451-100-4 (ISBN)
Description
For forty years, in a variety of books and articles, Gerhard Lenski has become the most influential proponent of ecological and evolutionary explanations of human societies, their development and transformations, from the Stone Age to the present. In his newest book, Lenski offers a succinct but comprehensive statement of the full body of his theory followed by demonstration of how it can be used to generate new and valuable insights when applied to a set of highly diverse issues. These include debates concerning the origin of ancient Israel and its distinctive culture, the rise of the West in the modern era, the highly varied trajectories of development of Third World nations in recent decades, and the failure of Marxist efforts to transform society in the Soviet Union and elsewhere. In the concluding chapter, Lenski discusses a number of other issues and areas where ecological-evolutionary theory may be fruitfully applied in the future.
Reviews / Votes
"'Lenski develops a highly refined and nuanced model of society dynamics that incorporates his previous thinking into a new approach. This book must be read not only by those interested in evolution, but all those who seek to explain macrodynamics. This book is a cutting edge analytical model and theory of macro social reality.' Jonathan H. Turner, author of Face to Face: Toward a Sociological Theory of Interpersonal Behavior 'Lenski's masterful integration of empirical data from biology, ecology, the social sciences, and technology provides by far the best theoretical underpinning available for a macro-level approach to the comparison of total societies.' Joan Huber, Ohio State University"More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Inc
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
546 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-59451-100-4 (9781594511004)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
11/2015
Routledge
€100.99
Available for download

E-Book
11/2015
Routledge
€100.99
Available for download

Book
05/2005
1st Edition
Routledge
€108.00
Shipment within 3-4 weeks
Person
Gerhard Lenski, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, is the author of Power and Privilege and The Religious Factor. He is a recent recipient of the ASA Distinguished Career Award.
Content
Part I Principles; Chapter 1 Evolutionary Theory: An Introduction; Chapter 2 Problem and Method; Chapter 3 The Biological Foundations of Human Societies; Chapter 4 Determinants of the Characteristics of Individual Societies: The Independent Variables; Chapter 5 Characteristics of Sets of Societies; Chapter 6 Characteristics of the Global System of Societies; Chapter 7 Ecological-Evolutionary Theory and Its Alternatives: A Comparison; Part II Applications; Part 3 Introduction to Part II; Chapter 8 The Origins and Early Development of Ancient Israel; Chapter 9 The Rise of the West; Chapter 10 Trajectories of Development among Societies, Patrick D. Nolan; Chapter 11 An Experiment That Failed; Part III Epilogue; Chapter 12 Retrospect and Prospect;