Théorie de l'évolution biologique et théorie économique: modalités, fondements et perspectives d'une relation à double sens – Evo-Eco

Since the 1960s, evolutionary biology has made extensive use of economic or 'cost/benefit' concepts and methods, as shown (among other things) by the role played by game theory in population biology. But the reverse is also true: 'evolutionary economy' and the theory of 'economical natural selection' testify for a massive influence of evolutionary biology over economic theory. These two trends of research have been more or less independent during decades, relying on different individuals, different concepts and different methods, though important convergences can be seen today. The goal of this project is to provide an analysis of the multifaceted interaction between evolutionary theory and economic theory in the past 50 years, and an evaluation of its foundations and present perspectives. The objective is clearly pluridisciplinary and epistemological, in a sense that involves a strong interaction between theoretical economists, theoretical biologists, and philosophers of science — some of whom are philosophers of economics and others philosophers of biology. A restricted group of approximately ten scholars, representative of these four domains have committed themselves to working together on the problem of the foundations and limits of the circulation of concepts and models between biology and economics. The project has a three-fold intellectual structure: (1) from economics to evolutionary biology; (2) from biology to economics; (3) cooperation as a case study illustrating the constitution of a transdisciplinary domain. In order to attain a close interaction between disciplines, the participants have chosen to present a project with only one institutional 'partner', in spite of their coming from different research teams and institutions. All tasks are organized so that each involve the totality of the disciplinary competences mobilized. A balanced participation of seniors and juniors in each of the major fields of research involved (biology, economics, philosophy of biology, philosophy of economics) is guaranteed, both in terms of participants and responsibilities.