---
title: "Universal Darwinism"
chunk: 2/2
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Darwinism"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:09:46.432377+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

=== Other Darwinian extensions ===
Quantum Darwinism sees the emergence of classical states in physics as a natural selection of the most stable quantum properties
Cosmological natural selection hypothesizes that universes reproduce and are selected for having fundamental constants that maximize "fitness"
Complex adaptive systems models the dynamics of complex systems in part on the basis of the variation and selection of its components
Evolutionary archaeology is a Darwinian approach to the cultural evolution of tools
Evolutionary computation is a Darwinian approach to the generation of adapted computer programs
Genetic algorithms, a subset of evolutionary computation, models variation by "genetic" operators (mutation and recombination)
Evolutionary robotics applies Darwinian algorithms to the design of autonomous robots
Artificial life uses Darwinian algorithms to let organism-like computer agents evolve in a software simulation
Evolutionary art uses variation and selection to produce works of art
Evolutionary music does the same for works of music
Clonal selection theory sees the creation of adapted antibodies in the immune system as a process of variation and selection
Neural Darwinism proposes that neurons and their synapses are selectively pruned during brain development
Evolutionary epistemology of theories assumes that scientific theories develop through variation and selection
Memetics is a theory of the variation, transmission, and selection of cultural items, such as ideas, fashions, and traditions
Dual inheritance theory a framework for cultural evolution developed largely independently of memetics
Cultural selection theory is a theory of cultural evolution related to memetics
Cultural materialism is an anthropological approach that contends that the physical world impacts and sets constraints on human behavior.
Environmental determinism is a social science theory that proposes that it is the environment that ultimately determines human culture.
Evolutionary economics studies the variation and selection of economic phenomena, such as commodities, technologies, institutions and organizations.
Evolutionary ethics investigates the origin of morality, and uses Darwinian foundations to formulate ethical values
Big History is the science-based narrative integrating the history of the universe, earth, life, and humanity. Scholars consider Universal Darwinism to be a possible unifying theme for the discipline.

== Books ==
Campbell, John. Universal Darwinism: the path of knowledge.
Cziko, Gary. Without Miracles: Universal Selection Theory and the Second Darwinian Revolution.
Hodgson, Geoffrey Martin; Knudsen, Thorbjorn. Darwin's Conjecture: The Search for General Principles of Social and Economic Evolution.
Kelley, D. B. The Origin of Everything via Universal Selection, or the Preservation of Favored Systems in Contention for Existence.
Plotkin, Henry. Evolutionary Worlds without End.
Plotkin, Henry. Darwin Machines and the Nature of Knowledge.
Dennett, Daniel. Darwin's Dangerous Idea.

== See also ==

== Notes ==

== References ==

== External links ==
UniversalSelection.com