This article is a synthesis of the main results obtained in a thematic cycle with the same title which was coordinated by the author during 2007 as one of the public activities of the University of Sao Paulo's Institute of Advanced Studies. It is also an introduction to the three o other contributions to this dossier: the articles from professors Ricardo Waizbort (Fiocruz) and Mario Possas (UFRJ), and the especial interview with professor Geoffrey Hodgson (University of Hertfordshire, UK).
Evolution; Darwinism; Social sciences; Evolutionary economics; Economic change; Cultural change
