Generic features of evolution and its continuity: A transdisciplinary perspective

Abstract

Because of the intellectual attraction of the neo-Darwinian theory of evolution, its concepts are often borrowed to conceptualized evolutionary change also in non-biological domains. However, a heuristic strategy like that is problematic. An attempt is therefore made to identify generic features of evolution which transcend domain-specific characteristics. Epistemological, conceptual, and methodological implications are discussed, and the ontological question is raised how non-biological evolutionary theories can be accommodated within the Darwinian world view of modern sciences.