Division of labour as key driver of social evolution DOI Creative Commons
Michael Taborsky, Jennifer H. Fewell, Robert P. Gilles

et al.

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 380(1922)

Published: March 20, 2025

The social division of labour (DoL) has been renowned as a key driver the economic success human societies dating back to ancient philosophers such Plato (in Republic , ca 380 BCE), Xenophon Cyropaedia 370 BCE) and Aristotle Politics 350 BCE, Nicomachean Ethics 340 BCE). Over time, this concept evolved into cornerstone political thought, most prominently expressed in Smith Wealth Nations 1776). In his magnum opus, Adam posited that DoL caused greater increase production than any other factor history. There is little doubt immensely increases productive output, both humans organisms, but it less clear how comes about, organized what biological roots are ‘turbo enhancer’. We address these questions here using results from studies wide range organisms various modelling approaches. This article part theme issue ‘Division evolution’.

Language: Английский

The evolution of division of labour: preconditions and evolutionary feedback DOI
Michael Taborsky

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 380(1922)

Published: March 20, 2025

Division of Labour (DoL) among group members reflects the pinnacle social complexity. The synergistic effects created by task specialization and sharing duties benefitting raise efficiency acquisition, use, management defence resources a fundamental step above potential individual agents. At same time, it may stabilize societies because involved interdependence collaborators. Here, I review conditions associated with emergence DoL, which include existence (i) sizeable groups enduring membership; (ii) improving performance; (iii) low conflict interest owing to correlated payoffs. This results in (iv) combination intra-individual consistency inter-individual variance carrying out different tasks, creates (v) some degree mutual members. DoL typically evolves ‘bottom-up’ without external regulatory forces, but latter gain importance at later stage evolution Owing feedback processes, cause effect are often difficult disentangle evolutionary trajectory towards structured well-developed their Nevertheless, entail one-way street complexity, retrogression getting increasingly more agents depend on each other progressing stages evolution. article is part theme issue ‘Division labour as key driver evolution’.

Language: Английский

Citations

3
Division of labour as key driver of social evolution DOI Creative Commons
Michael Taborsky, Jennifer H. Fewell, Robert P. Gilles

et al.

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 380(1922)

Published: March 20, 2025

The social division of labour (DoL) has been renowned as a key driver the economic success human societies dating back to ancient philosophers such Plato (in Republic , ca 380 BCE), Xenophon Cyropaedia 370 BCE) and Aristotle Politics 350 BCE, Nicomachean Ethics 340 BCE). Over time, this concept evolved into cornerstone political thought, most prominently expressed in Smith Wealth Nations 1776). In his magnum opus, Adam posited that DoL caused greater increase production than any other factor history. There is little doubt immensely increases productive output, both humans organisms, but it less clear how comes about, organized what biological roots are ‘turbo enhancer’. We address these questions here using results from studies wide range organisms various modelling approaches. This article part theme issue ‘Division evolution’.

Language: Английский

Citations

1