1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910584596103321

Autore

Rosenberg Michael

Titolo

The Dynamics of Cultural Evolution : The Central Role of Purposive Behaviors / / by Michael Rosenberg

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cham : , : Springer International Publishing : , : Imprint : Springer, , 2022

ISBN

9783031048630

9783031048623

Edizione

[1st ed. 2022.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (207 pages)

Collana

Studies in Human Ecology and Adaptation ; ; 12

Disciplina

303.4

Soggetti

Human evolution

Anthropology

Archaeology

Social evolution

Evolution (Biology)

Paleontology

Evolutionary Anthropology

Cultural Evolution

Social Evolution

Evolutionary Biology

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Sommario/riassunto

This book explores the nature of cultural and culturally structured social and behavioral entities, their evolutionary interactions, and the central role purposive behaviors play in those interactions. It, first, makes the case for cultural and cultural structured systems being considered as true entities bounded in time and space, and not ephemera in a constant state of becoming another system. Second, it examines how these entities interact to produce evolutionary culture change. It then argues that the intent of purposive behaviors is reliably knowable in the aggregate, at least when dealing with expressions of behavioral tendencies in the animal kingdom, humans included. Finally,



the book references well documented behavioral tendencies for examples of proximate causation in the evolution of settled village societies and, following that, socially complex societies. Through these efforts, the book synthesizes the various approaches to the evolution of culture and provides a complete and comprehensive picture of the process. It provides a corrective to the tendency to view cultural systems as entirely open ended and as capable of changing in any direction; and also to treating cultural evolution as solely a result of selective forces, that is, in terms of only ultimate causation. This book provides an engaging and critical counterview to established theories of cultural evolution and is of interest to scholars and students of different disciplines, from anthropology and archeology, to evolutionary biology and epigenetics.