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The influences of evolutionary theory on Pareto's sociology
Author(s) -
Nye Robert A.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
journal of the history of the behavioral sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.216
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1520-6696
pISSN - 0022-5061
DOI - 10.1002/1520-6696(198604)22:2<99::aid-jhbs2300220202>3.0.co;2-e
Subject(s) - pareto principle , darwinism , inheritance (genetic algorithm) , sociology , positive economics , neoclassical economics , pessimism , mechanism (biology) , epistemology , economics , mathematical economics , philosophy , biology , operations management , biochemistry , gene
This paper argues that the influence of evolutionary theory on the sociology of Vilfredo Pareto has been generally misunderstood or overlooked, largely on account of Pareto's own contemptuous rejection of “finalist” Darwinian evolution. But the sources of Pareto's evolutionary ideas were French, not English. Neo‐Lamarckian notions of inheritance and the related concept of degeneration helped support Pareto's explanation of social evolution, especially as it is developed in his early sociological works. Understanding these influences helps explain Pareto's peculiarly pessimistic account of the mechanism of social change in modern society.