Memes Revisited
Author: Sterelny, Kim
Source: British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, Volume 57, Number 1, March 2006 , pp. 145-165(21)
Publisher: Oxford University Press
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Abstract:
In this paper, I argue that the adaptive fit between human cultures and their environment is persuasive evidence that some form of evolutionary mechanism has been important in driving human cultural change. I distinguish three mechanisms of cultural evolution: niche construction leading to cultural group selection; the vertical flow of cultural information from parents to their children, and the replication and spread of memes. I further argue that both cultural group selection and the vertical flow of cultural information have been important. More conjecturally, I identify a potential role for meme-based cultural evolution in the explanation of the `human revolution' of the last 100 000 or so years, and defuse an important objection to that explanation. <LIST> <ITEM> Introduction </ITEM> <ITEM> Cultural groups </ITEM> <ITEM> The cultural invention of adaptive complexes </ITEM> <ITEM> Niche construction models </ITEM> <ITEM> Dual inheritance </ITEM> <ITEM> Memes </ITEM> <ITEM> Memes or minds? </ITEM> <ITEM> Conclusion </ITEM></LIST>Keywords: machine learning; network routing; adaptive routing
Document Type: Research article
DOI: 10.1093/bjps/axi157
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