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6 - The Cultural Animal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 September 2018

Steve Stewart-Williams
Affiliation:
University of Nottingham
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Summary

This chapter looks at arguably the most unique and important feature of our species: culture. I begin by making the case that natural selection operates not only genes but on the elements of culture - what Richard Dawkins called memes – and that through cumulative cultural evolution, our culture evolves to be smarter than we are. I then run through a series of hypotheses about what natural selection “designs” cultural entities to do. These include the idea that culture is designed to promote the individual’s fitness and the idea that culture is designed to promote the good of the group. In the end, I conclude that cultural entities are designed ultimately to promote their own good, whether or not they’re good for us or our groups (although often they are). This “neo-memetic” approach to culture does not, I argue, supplant other theories of cultural evolution, but instead provides a unifying framework that embraces these theories while also going beyond them. Finally, I look at the coevolution of culture and biology, and consider how modern living conditions might inadvertently promote the survival of the weakest.
Type
Chapter
Information
The Ape that Understood the Universe
How the Mind and Culture Evolve
, pp. 219 - 282
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2018

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  • The Cultural Animal
  • Steve Stewart-Williams, University of Nottingham
  • Book: The Ape that Understood the Universe
  • Online publication: 13 September 2018
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108348140.006
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • The Cultural Animal
  • Steve Stewart-Williams, University of Nottingham
  • Book: The Ape that Understood the Universe
  • Online publication: 13 September 2018
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108348140.006
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Cultural Animal
  • Steve Stewart-Williams, University of Nottingham
  • Book: The Ape that Understood the Universe
  • Online publication: 13 September 2018
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108348140.006
Available formats
×