Cultural Evolution

lucid and engaging . . . Well-informed about both cultural evolutionary theory and the objections raised against it, Lewens plays the role of an honest broker.

Auteur
Tim Lewens is Professor of Philosophy of Science in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge. He is also a fellow of Clare College and Deputy Director of Cambridge's Centre for Research in Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH). His research interests include the philosophy of biology, biomedical ethics, and general philosophy of science. His publications include Darwin (Routledge, 2007), a philosophical introduction to Darwin and Darwinism, Biological Foundations of Bioethics (OUP, 2015) and The Meaning of Science (forthcoming with Penguin in 2015).

Texte du rabat

Tim Lewens explores what it means to take an evolutionary approach to cultural change, and why this approach is often treated with suspicion. He makes an original case for the value of evolutionary thinking for students of culture, and shows why the concerns of sceptics should not be dismissed as mere prejudice, confusion, or ignorance.

Contenu

• Introduction: Darwinism in Dispute

• 1: What is Cultural Evolutionary Theory?

• 2: The Kinetic Theory of Culture

• 3: 'Culture is Information'

• 4: Human Nature in Theory

• 5: Human Nature in Practice

• 6: The Perils of Cultural Models

• 7: Populations, People, and Power

• 8: Cultural Adaptationism

• 9: Eclectic Evolution: The Case of the Emotions

• References

• Index