ABSTRACT
This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part provides a broad overview of some classical economic interests in biology. It shows that human beings are not the only organisms that economize or make choices. The part explores conceptual relationships between the biosphere and the price system, between a production function and aspects of the biosphere, between evolution and economic development, and between biological regeneration and social replacement. It demonstrates, most of the borrowing of explanatory concepts has been unidirectional, essentially from biology by the social sciences. The part examines numerous economic concepts from a biological for the most part sociobiological vantage point. It explains biological models of the business firm with references to fitness, adaptation, genetics, evolution, and niche theory. The part discusses some biological bases for economic tastes and preferences before moving on to an insightful section on selfishness.
