Mathematical Models of Social Evolution: A Guide for the Perplexed [Paperback]

Richard McElreath (Author), Robert Boyd (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0226558274 | ISBN-13: 978-0226558271

Over the last several decades, mathematical models have become central to the study of social evolution, both in biology and the social sciences. But students in these disciplines often seriously lack the tools to understand them. A primer on behavioral modeling that includes both mathematics and evolutionary theory, Mathematical Models of Social Evolution aims to make the student and professional researcher in biology and the social sciences fully conversant in the language of the field.

Teaching biological concepts from which models can be developed, Richard McElreath and Robert Boyd introduce readers to many of the typical mathematical tools that are used to analyze evolutionary models and end each chapter with a set of problems that draw upon these techniques. Mathematical Models of Social Evolution equips behaviorists and evolutionary biologists with the mathematical knowledge to truly understand the models on which their research depends. Ultimately, McElreath and Boyd’s goal is to impart the fundamental concepts that underlie modern biological understandings of the evolution of behavior so that readers will be able to more fully appreciate journal articles and scientific literature, and start building models of their own.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Evolutionary arguments are increasingly used as explanations in a wide range of human sciences - psychology, economics, anthropology - as well as in biology itself. However, these arguments are frequently employed on the basis of a secondhand understanding of the principles by which they are derived. This is the first book to provide a thorough but accessible grounding in the methods underlying the major topics in the evolution of social behavior. It should become required study for graduate students in evolution and human behavior." - Daniel Nettle, Newcastle University"

About the Author

Richard McElreath is associate professor of anthropology at the University of California, Davis. Robert Boyd is professor of anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and coauthor of Not by Genes Alone, also published by the University of Chicago Press.

Product Details

• Paperback: 425 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (March 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226558274
• ISBN-13: 978-0226558271
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #316,002 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Hands-On Guide to the Math of Cultural Evolution!, May 2, 2007

By 

Timothy M. Waring (Tamil Nadu, India) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mathematical Models of Social Evolution: A Guide for the Perplexed (Paperback)

This concise book will allow any mathematically competent but sociobiologically inexperienced reader to dive right into the debates about human evolution. Although the many of the models described in McElreath and Boyd's Guide for the Perplexed come from evolutionary biology and were conceived as genetic models, a great deal of them apply without alteration to related processes in the social world. Take the prisoners dilemma, the battle of the sexes, the Price Equation, or the Phillip Sidney game, honest signaling, and social learning. Everything inside has direct bearing on how we should understand the evolution of social systems, it's just that the *math* has already been worked out by others in the biological sciences.

The social sciences have much to gain from game theory, and this book is a concise, complete and speedy primer.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Pedagogical Tour de Force, August 29, 2008

By 

Herbert Gintis (Northampton, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mathematical Models of Social Evolution: A Guide for the Perplexed (Paperback)

Robert Boyd is a professor of anthropology at UCLA, and McElreath is his former student, now professor of Anthropology at UC Davis. Boyd, together with Peter Richerson, were early contributors to a dynamic (and correct, I believe) version of sociobiology known as gene-culture coevolution. The theory developed in this book is relevant for anyone interested in social behavior, whether they are biologists, anthropologists, or have their training in another behavioral discipline.

I have written an extended review for the journal Evolutionary Psychology, which should appear in the year 2008.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic introduction to theoretical sociobiology, April 10, 2007

By 

Kevin R. Foster (Harvard University, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mathematical Models of Social Evolution: A Guide for the Perplexed (Paperback)

This book provides a thorough, lucid and near-complete guide to the theories used by sociobiologists like no book has achieved before it. As a working biologist, I strongly recommend it to those interested in why animals and indeed all organisms cooperate, or conflict.