The evolutionary and schumpeterian theory of innovation: from unity to epistemological and ontological fragmentation

Abstract

This article aims to contribute to the ontological and epistemological discussion that has been developing in the last two decades in the field of evolutionary and Schumpeterian legacies and its main streams, when focusing on the relevance assigned to Darwin’s thinking. Our contribution is to discuss what place Darwinian variation, inheritance and selection mechanisms have in the “core” of each legacy and streams either i) as general principles applicable to economic and social systems that characterize the contributions of what is called “universal/generalized darwinism”-, ii) as a continuity between the natural and cultural world or iii) as an analysis of evolutionary dynamics that does not resort to the aforementioned Darwinian trilogy in its theoretical framework

Keywords:
Ontology; Epistemology; Evolutionary and Schumpeterian legacies; Darwin