#774 Andrew Buskell: Cultural Evolution, Cumulative Culture, and the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis
RECORDED ON JANUARY 5th 2023.
Dr. Andrew Buskell is a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Public Policy. His work analyses issues where human cognition, culture, politics, and biology intersect. His current project examines the ontological and epistemic assumptions underwriting cross-cultural comparison and their implications for research and policy design. He is one of the co-organizers of the project ‘Culture at the Macro-Scale: Boundaries, Barriers, and Endogenous Change‘.
In this episode, we talk about cultural evolution. We start by discussing what cultural evolution is, when it started, and its elements. We talk about a systems approach to cultural evolution. We talk about cognitive novelties and how they arise. We discuss cumulative culture, its different types (adaptiveness, complexity, efficiency, and disparity), and the paradigmatic example of complex hominin technologies. We talk about cultural groups, and demographic cultures. We discuss Kim Sterelny’s and Wengrow’s and Graeber’s accounts of the origins of hierarchy and inequality. We ask if we need an extended evolutionary synthesis. Finally, we talk about uniqueness in the life sciences.
Time Links:
Intro
What is cultural evolution, really?
When did cultural evolution start?
The elements of culture, and how they interrelate
A systems approach to cultural evolution
What are cognitive novelties, and how do they arise?
Understanding cumulative culture and its different types
Complex hominin technologies as paradigmatic instances of cumulative culture
Cultural groups, and demographic cultures
The origins of hierarchy and inequality. Who has the better account: Kim Sterelny, or David Wengrow and David Graeber?
The extended evolutionary synthesis: is it needed?
What is uniqueness in the life sciences, and what epistemic implications does it have?
Follow Dr. Buskell’s work!
Follow Dr. Buskell’s work:
Faculty page: https://b.gatech.edu/3x2praK
Website: https://bit.ly/3REHdZi
PhilPeople profile: https://bit.ly/3eu67g7
Twitter handle: @AndrewBuskell