Evolutionary Theory of History

Abstract

Several attempts have been made recently to apply Darwinian evolutionary theory to the study of culture change and social history. The essential elements in such a theory are that variations occur in a population, and that a process of selective retention operates during their replication and transmission. Location of such variable "units" in the semantic structure of cognition provides the individual psychological basis for an evolutionary theory of history. Selection operates on both the level of cognition and on its "phenotypic" expression in action in relation to individual preferred sources of psychological satisfaction. Social power comprises the principal selective forces within the sociocultural environment. Sociocultural evolution takes place both as a result of the unintended consequences of action and through the struggle of individuals and groups in pursuit of opposing interests. The implications for historiography are methodological in that evolutionary theory of history sharpens the focus of explanatory situational analysis, and interpretive in that it provides a paradigmatic metanarrative for the understanding of historical change.Over the last decade and more, social scientists in a number of disciplines have attempted to apply Darwinian evolutionary theory to human societies and cultures. 1 One only has to think of R. D. Alexander and William H. Durham among anthropologists; W. G. Runciman and Stephen K. Sanderson among sociologists; Roger D. Masters and Glendon Schubert among political scientists; J. Tooby and L. Cosmides, and David M. Buss among psychologists; and J. Hirshleifer and Kenneth Boulding among economists. 2 Such scholars have sought to understand in Darwinian evolutionary terms how cultures evolve, the processes of social and political change, why the human psyche has the form and function it does, and how economic enterprises compete. Historians, however, have been slow to 1. No longer can it be claimed that sociocultural evolution based on a generalized Darwinian model is an "untried theory.

The Hot one Hundred Choreographers: a tênue fronteira de memeplexos

“…Um mecanismo simples, mas frutífero nas ocorrências das chamadas unidades culturais em seu ambiente em cooperação e concorrência com ambientes de unidades culturais diver-Urdimento, v.2, n.29, p. 59-76, Outubro 2017 Marcos Bragato gentes: a mudança ocorre por meio da retenção seletiva da variação (Stuart-Fox, 1999). Isso leva ao entendimento de que a reprodução cultural, o componente genealógico, requer reiteração do comportamento de ideias selecionadas em ambiente competitivo por espaço em cérebros, e em artefatos como defendemos.…”

The Aims of Big History

“…Martin Stuart-Fox, one the few historians who have sought to apply neo-Darwinian theory to history, does so by positing the existence of potentially quite complex mimetic entities he terms mentemes. 27 While they only have a theoretical existence, he suggests that in time they might be identified in the structure of the brain 28 a claim that presumably rests on the discovery of at least one gene which, when subject to mutation, causes a limited but specific deficiency in grammatical competence. 29 However, while neuroscience is providing new and remarkable insights into the material substrate of language, this is a long way from what is required to build a robust theory of cultural selection.…”

Southeast Asia: In The Shadow of China

“…More distant countries were required to send tribute only infrequently. 7 The tribute itself, usually consisting of local luxury items, was less important than the symbolism of ritual submission to the Chinese empire, which after all stood at the center of the world and enjoyed the mandate of heaven. Acknowledgement of the supreme status of the Middle Kingdom was thus at the heart of this profoundly unequal and hierarchical worldview.…”

“…These included the Tai principalities of Luchuan and Cheli in presentday Yunnan, the Lao kingdom of Lan Xand, the Kingdom of Lan Na in northern Thailand, and the Kingdom of Ava in present-day Burma, all of which were designated as "pacification commissioners" and made to conduct their formal relations with China via Yunnan. 8 Nothing like this highly institutionalized sphere of influence covered the Malay Peninsula or the maritime sultanates of island Asia.…”

“…Even less could the Philippines, whose significant trade relations with China (apart from Sulu) post-date the arrival of the Spanish and were conducted under their auspices. 15 A final piece of the puzzle is the divergent way in which Southeast Asian states have reacted to the communist threat in the contemporary era. Communism, as both a doctrine and a program of political action, polarized Southeast Asia for several decades following the end of the Second World War.…”