Social behaviour is common in nature. Yet, for over a century and half, scholars have struggled in vain to offer a satisfactory account of its evolution under Darwinian natural selection. In this thesis I propose that three fundamental assumptions in the Darwinian explanation of social behaviour are at the root of the problem. They are: 1. The basic Darwinian philosophy that evolutionary change occurs by one inherent trait replacing another in an organism. 2. The collapse of social behaviour, in its entirety, into a single, narrow concept called “altruism.” 3. The assumption that such “altruism” arises from a mutation at a single gene locus, where it supplants “selfishness” as an alternative allele. The thesis identifies some insights from Hume’s analysis of human morality and sociality that suggest the proper circumstances of social interactions in humans. We see from Hume’s analysis that nothing inherent in human nature needs to change in order to move beyond parenting to sociality. Hume identifies two principles in human nature — selfishness and empathy — that are the ultimate basis of human sociality. Empathy expands self-interest to include relatives and associates, but not strangers. And that suffices to form small, primitive human societies. For large, cosmopolitan societies, Hume suggests they are maintained only through human inventions such as governments and justice. Hume’s explanation precludes the need for a weaker “altruistic gene” to supplant a fitter “selfish gene” as a condition for social evolution, which has been the basis of the Darwinian explanatory difficulty. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

In Annie Proulx's interview with Charlie Rose, she states that her stories come "from place." Ecocriticism has been the predominant lens with which to understand Proulx's work; however, ecocriticism's nebulous tenets and theoretical deficiencies perpetuate sentimental pastoralism of geographical determinism. The shaping impact of Wyoming's environment in Proulx's work lends itself to an evolutionary perspective. Proulx's fiction, like evolutionary theory, examines humanity's unique, reciprocal relationship with nature. The evolutionary approach provides readers with a framework to understand the human relationship to our environment, a theme Proulx's work examines. This approach also augments current criticism that notes the importance of place but does not utilize the relevant framework of evolution. Current evolutionary theory provides the theoretical framework necessary to shed light on the relationship between Proulx's colorful characters and the environment that shapes them. Utilizing this evolutionary framework and textual analysis, I examine two short stories, "The Half-Skinned Steer" and "Wamsutter Wolf."

It is the contention of this thesis that the field of adaptation studies is struggling to emerge from a restrictive, outdated and static paradigmatic framework. It proposes that the field would benefit from widening its current frame of reference to include more input and perspectives from the evolutionary biological sciences. This thesis considers the implications for the study of culture of the Darwinian theory of evolution – how it might become a more integral part of how we understand culture generally, and of how we read specific texts. It attempts to re-contextualise adaptation studies within an ongoing, conceptual paradigm shift in Western culture, initiated by Darwin’s publication of his theory of evolution by natural selection. It contends that the Darwinian Revolution is far from complete within the humanities and that the time is ripe for greater consilience and exchange between the bio-sciences and humanities disciplines. This thesis explores the current state of adaptation studies as a discipline, referring in particular to recent work by adaptation theorists such as Robert Stam, Linda Hutcheon, Thomas Leitch and Julie Sanders and their efforts to reinvigorate and redirect adaptation studies. It considers how deeply ingrained, evaluative modes of thought could be holding back these efforts, and if an updated, mutable Darwinian paradigm could aid them. This thesis also speculates on the viability of an evolutionary unit of culture, the meme, and its possible relevance to adaptation studies and the wider study of culture. Finally, it applies a Darwinian perspective, on various levels, to an extensive, detailed textual analysis of the non-fiction book The Orchid Thief and the film Adaptation.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T20:21:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Vivian Catarina Dias.pdf: 16086007 bytes, checksum: 6a5f546b854fa268d7eb63cefb940bd8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-05-04 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / Since childhood Charles Darwin showed an interest for the natural world. In his youth he developed that passion into an object of study travelling around the world onboard of The Beagle. The contact with unique species like the ones found in Galapagos Islands, the fossils discovered in South America, the experiences he lived and a extensive reseach during more than twenty years after his return to England made him think about a common link between the species, that lead him to publish The origin of species in 1859 and The expression of emotions in man and animals in 1872, along with other works and articles on the most diverse subjects, such as Diary of a naturalist around the world. In The origin of species he stated that the species are mutable and linked by the proccess of communion of ascendancy , fruits from the same tree of life. Forging the recreation of human history and its relocation in the natural world, the essays in The expression of emotions in man and animals widened the statement about the evolution of species pointing that humans share emotions and feelings with other species of animals. The implosion of the concept of human initiated with the darwinian facts opened new horizons for sciences such as anthropology to rethink the trajectory of the living beings and the borderlines between culture and animality. Notwithstanding, go beyond frontiers and enrich the critic, scientific, ethic and poetic repertoire is a really dificult task. Despite the relevance of the Darwinian Works, the contact with them is through indirect ways: cartoons, films and fiction, whose contents rarely approach the issue in all its depth / Desde a infância, Charles Darwin demonstrou interesse pelo mundo natural. Na juventude, transformou essa paixão em objeto de estudo viajando ao redor do mundo no navio Beagle. O contato com espécies únicas como as encontradas nas Ilhas Galápagos; os fósseis achados na América do Sul; as experiências adquiridas, e uma extensa pesquisa realizada por mais de vinte anos após o retorno à Inglaterra, levaram-no a pensar na filiação comum das espécies, desdobrando no lançamento de A origem das espécies (1859) e A expressão das emoções no homem e nos animais (1872), além de outras obras e artigos sobre os mais variados assuntos, como o Diário de um naturalista à volta do mundo. Em A origem das espécies, enunciou que as espécies são mutáveis e vinculadas pelo processo da comunhão de descendência , frutos da mesma árvore da vida. Forjando a recriação da história humana e sua realocação no mundo natural, os estudos de A expressão das emoções no homem e nos animais ampliaram o enunciado sobre a evolução das espécies, indicando que humanos compartilham emoções e sentimentos com outras espécies animais. A implosão do conceito de humano iniciada com os fatos darwinianos abriu outros horizontes para as ciências, incluindo a antropologia, repensarem a trajetória dos seres vivos e as fronteiras entre cultura e animalidade. Contudo, transpor limiares e enriquecer o repertório crítico, científico, ético, poético, mostra-se tarefa deveras espinhosa. Apesar da relevância das obras darwinianas, o contato com elas dá-se por vias indiretas: charges, filmes, ficção, cujos conteúdos, raramente, as abordam em todo seu alcance

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T14:55:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Vivian Catarina Dias.pdf: 16086007 bytes, checksum: 6a5f546b854fa268d7eb63cefb940bd8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-05-04 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / Since childhood Charles Darwin showed an interest for the natural world. In his youth he developed that passion into an object of study travelling around the world onboard of The Beagle. The contact with unique species like the ones found in Galapagos Islands, the fossils discovered in South America, the experiences he lived and a extensive reseach during more than twenty years after his return to England made him think about a common link between the species, that lead him to publish The origin of species in 1859 and The expression of emotions in man and animals in 1872, along with other works and articles on the most diverse subjects, such as Diary of a naturalist around the world. In The origin of species he stated that the species are mutable and linked by the proccess of communion of ascendancy , fruits from the same tree of life. Forging the recreation of human history and its relocation in the natural world, the essays in The expression of emotions in man and animals widened the statement about the evolution of species pointing that humans share emotions and feelings with other species of animals. The implosion of the concept of human initiated with the darwinian facts opened new horizons for sciences such as anthropology to rethink the trajectory of the living beings and the borderlines between culture and animality. Notwithstanding, go beyond frontiers and enrich the critic, scientific, ethic and poetic repertoire is a really dificult task. Despite the relevance of the Darwinian Works, the contact with them is through indirect ways: cartoons, films and fiction, whose contents rarely approach the issue in all its depth / Desde a infância, Charles Darwin demonstrou interesse pelo mundo natural. Na juventude, transformou essa paixão em objeto de estudo viajando ao redor do mundo no navio Beagle. O contato com espécies únicas como as encontradas nas Ilhas Galápagos; os fósseis achados na América do Sul; as experiências adquiridas, e uma extensa pesquisa realizada por mais de vinte anos após o retorno à Inglaterra, levaram-no a pensar na filiação comum das espécies, desdobrando no lançamento de A origem das espécies (1859) e A expressão das emoções no homem e nos animais (1872), além de outras obras e artigos sobre os mais variados assuntos, como o Diário de um naturalista à volta do mundo. Em A origem das espécies, enunciou que as espécies são mutáveis e vinculadas pelo processo da comunhão de descendência , frutos da mesma árvore da vida. Forjando a recriação da história humana e sua realocação no mundo natural, os estudos de A expressão das emoções no homem e nos animais ampliaram o enunciado sobre a evolução das espécies, indicando que humanos compartilham emoções e sentimentos com outras espécies animais. A implosão do conceito de humano iniciada com os fatos darwinianos abriu outros horizontes para as ciências, incluindo a antropologia, repensarem a trajetória dos seres vivos e as fronteiras entre cultura e animalidade. Contudo, transpor limiares e enriquecer o repertório crítico, científico, ético, poético, mostra-se tarefa deveras espinhosa. Apesar da relevância das obras darwinianas, o contato com elas dá-se por vias indiretas: charges, filmes, ficção, cujos conteúdos, raramente, as abordam em todo seu alcance

The aim of this work was to create a system for optimisaton of specific analog circuits by evolution using multiple fitness functions . A set of experiments was run, and the results analyzed to evaluate the feasibility of evolutionary optimisation of analog circuits . A requirement for this goal is the study and choice of certain types of analog circuits and evolutionary algorithms . For the scope of this work , amplifiers and oscillators were chosen as target circuits , and genetic algorithms and evolutionary strategies as evolutionary algorithms . The motivation for this work is the ongoing effort to automate the design and optimisation of analog circuits , where evolutionary optimisation is one of the options .