William Wimsatt (University of Chicago and University of Minnesota), How to Bring Evo-Devo to Cultural Evolution

Commentator: Daniel Dor, Tel Aviv University

Chair: Leo Corry, Cohn Institute

The Bar-Hillel Colloquium for the History, Philosophy and Sociology of Science 2012-2013

 

Monday, 14/1/2013, 18:00

Gilman Building, Hall 449

 

 

 

Cultural Evolution exhibits varied and deep analogies with biological evolution, and some important differences, all without apparent analogies to genes or the structure provided by genetics. Such a theory must take individual development, socialization and training as central. Sequential acquisition of specialized skills, norms and values articulate with each other, making us both producer and product of cumulative culture, scaffolding and being scaffolded by the ideational and material products we have made. Additional burden? No – a resource. Entrenchment resulting from developmental dependencies arises in evo-devo, culture and technology, yielding evolutionary patterns of differential conservation in each.