This two-volume handbook is unique in spanning the entire field of evolution, from the origins of life up to the formation of social structures and science and technology. The author team of world-renowned experts considers the subject from a variety of disciplines, with continuous cross-referencing so as to retain a logical internal structure. The uniformly structured contributions discuss not merely the general knowledge behind the evolution of life, but also the corresponding development of language, society, economies, morality and politics. The result is an overview of the history and methods used in the study of evolution, including controversial theories and discussions. A must for researchers in the natural sciences, sociology and philosophy, as well as for those interested in an interdisciplinary view of the status of evolution today.

Franz M. Wuketits, born in 1955, studied zoology, paleontology, philosophy, and philosophy of science and obtained his Ph.D. in 1978 from the University of Vienna, Austria, where he has been teaching philosophy of science with a special emphasis on biology since 1980. He also lectures at the University of Graz, Austria, and the Technical University of Vienna. He is on the board of directors at the Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research and a member of the advisory board of several scientific institutions. He has published 29 books, edited or co-edited 12 volumes and is author of about 300 articles, and in 1982 received the Austrian Award for Scientific Publishing.

Christopher Antweiler, born in 1956, is currently Professor of Cultural Anthropology at the University of Trier, Germany. He first studied geology and paleontology and gained his diploma with a work on paleoclimatologic method. He went on to study cultural selectionism from the University of Cologne, Germany. His main regional research interest in anthropology is Southeast Asia. He has published extensively on cognition, cities, social evolution, development and local knowledge, and is currently working on a book on cultural universals.

Preface.

List of Contributors.

1. The Human Adaptation for Culture (Michael Tomasello).

2. Cognitive Evolution (Olaf Diettrich).

3. Evolution, Language, and the Construction of Culture (Harold Haarmann).

4. Social Evolution (Peter Meyer).

5. Evolution of Morality (Camilo J. Cela-Conde& Francisco J. Ayala).

6. The Evolution of Politics (Peter A. Corning).

7. Evolution of Economics (John M. Gowdy).

8. The Evolution of Scientific Method (Erhard Oeser).

Index.