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How Did Human Culture Evolve?
It is generally accepted that culture is central to human social life, and that cumulative human culture forms the bedrock of human social development. Over the years there have been many theories of how human culture developed, including historical, sociological, complex systems, symbolic and structural.
In recent years, evolutionary biologists have proposed theories that explain human culture as an essentially evolutionary adaption. This is a departure from the past that emphasises the natural and evolutionary origins of human culture.
We’ll be discussing the implications of the idea that human culture evolved along with our other capabilities, and what this means for our understanding of society today.
Books
Internet Resources
Raymond Tallis – How are Humans Unique? – YouTube
Chimpanzee Metacognition Allows Humanlike Belief Revision | Scientific American
The morality of beasts | Frans de Waal | Big Think – YouTube
Animal Communication Studies Reveal Mindblowing Results
12 Theories of How We Became Human, and Why They’re All Wrong | National Geographic
Humans ARE NOT Special…We’re RARE – YouTube
Chimpanzees Display Early Signs of Cultural Evolution | Technology Networks
E.O. Wilson, ‘Darwin’s natural heir,’ dies at age 92 | National Geographic
Richard Dawkins | Memes | Oxford Union – YouTube
Daniel Dennett: Memes 101 | How Cultural Evolution Works | Big Think
Susan Blackmore: Memes and “temes”
What is Dual Inheritance Theory?
Cultural evolution: Where we have been and where we are going (maybe) | PNAS
How Culture Is Driving Human Evolution, Domesticating Our Species, and Making Us Smarter