The Evolution of the Capacity for Culture: Sociobiology, Structuralism, and Cultural Selectionism [and Comments and Replies]

Rindos, David; Dunnell, Robert C.; Goonatilake, Susantha; Irons, William; Richarson, Peter J.; Boyd, Robert; Rossi, Ino; Simek, Jan F.; Wind, Jan

doi:10.1086/203444

Cited by 43 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…The nature of the neo-Darwinian resurgence can be better understood through the identification of two paths of 'philosophical divergence' which have occurred in its relatively short history. On the one hand we have the major distinction between Sociobiology and Cultural Selectionism (Blute 1979;Cullen 1990;Rindos 1986b), and on the other hand we have the secondary divergence which exists within Cultural Selectionism between the 'Inclusive Phenotype' position which predominates in American Cultural Selectionism, and the Cultural Virus position. It is this secondary divergence which has been the focus of the paper, which has taken the form of a critique of the Inclusive Phenotype position from the point of view of the Cultural Virus position.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two well-established lines of thought are those usually referred to as Sociobiology and Cultural Selectionism (e.g. Rindos 1986b;Cullen 1990;Durham 1990; all of whom use this distinction). Summarized very crudely, the sociobiologist is most interested in how human behaviour patterns and social structures affect the survival and genetic reproduction of individual human organisms (e.g.…”

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confidence: 99%

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The Darwinian Resurgence and the Cultural Virus Critique

Cullen

1993

CAJ

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While the greater part of recent theoretical discourse within archaeology and anthropology has revolved around the post-modernist manifesto, selectionist metaphysics have been enjoying a milder and less vociferous resurgence. This is reflected in the increasing number and diversity of neo-Darwinian approaches which are now available within cultural fields of enquiry. Two basic approaches may be identified, Sociobiology and Cultural Selectionism, and the latter of these can be further sub-divided into the ‘American’ or ‘Inclusive Phenotype’ position and the ‘Cultural Virus’ position. This paper presents a critique of the more established ‘Inclusive Phenotype’ position from the point of view of the ‘Virus’ position, and as the critique unfolds a number of logical problems are elucidated. It is stressed that this paper is not so much a presentation of the Cultural Virus Theory, as a critique of its nearest philosophical relatives.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

The Darwinian Resurgence and the Cultural Virus Critique

Cullen

1993

CAJ

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“…17. Geography consistently rejects possible means of integration that incorporate strongly the nature side of the relationship, even those that have no deterministic leanings(e.g., Rindos 1986)and that earn serious consideration throughout many of the other social sciences (e.g., Boyd and Richerson 1985). I am not an advocate of environmentalism or sociobiology.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Specialist–Synthesis Approach to the Revival of Geography: The Case of Cultural Ecology

Turner

1989

Annals of the Association of American Geographers

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Geography prospers within the major graduate and research institutions of the United States where and when it makes research contributions on par with the rest of the academy; other prescriptions for its revival will have little impact in this realm. Geography has been unable to maintain these contributions when it embarks upon disciplinary trajectories that emphasize synthesis without expertise or specialization within a theoretical domain unto itself. Geography has flourished within the academy by addressing major conceptual and applied themes shared within an interdisciplinary formal but by way of a specialist‐synthesis fusion. This approach re quires both a topical expertise commensurate with the affiliated fields of study and geographic synthesis of multi‐variable interactions either in place or among places. This approach has been honed in the cultural ecology subfield of geography, a subfield perhaps more noted at the interdisciplinary level than within its home discipline. The development of the specialist‐synthesis approach in cultural ecology is briefly examined, and two examples of its use are provided to address conceptual themes of multidisciplinary significance. It is argued that this approach marks much of the very best research contributions in our discipline, regardless of subfield, and that only increased contributions of this kind will sustain geography within the research academy and, perhaps, resurrect the discipline in those elite institutions that do not now have it.

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“…For those interested in epistemological origins, the approach can be considered a crude synthesis of the following: a radical interpretation of the American Cultural Selectionists (e.g. Cambell 1965;Durham 1990;Leonard & Jones 1987;Rindos 1985;1986b;; Gerald Edelman's psychobiological theory of neuronal group selection (Edelman 1989); Richard Dawkins' principles of parasite ecology and the concept of the extended phenotype (Dawkins 1982); and finally the Dawkins concept of memes (Dawkins 1976;.…”

Section: Being Complicatedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biology and Behaviour in Human Evolution

Lee¹

1991

CAJ

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Of the diverse approaches to understanding patterns and processes in human evolution, a focus on the biology of behaviour using principles derived from the non-human primates may have some utility for archaeologists. This article seeks to outline some biologically-based areas that could prove fruitful in exploring the origins of human behaviour within the archaeological record. It attempts to initiate a dialogue between biologists, even with their limited understanding of the problems facing those working with human origins, and archaeologists, in the hope that this dialogue will move beyond a simple reductionist approach towards the goal of integrating behaviour into a more sophisticated biological perspective.

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The Evolution of the Capacity for Culture: Sociobiology, Structuralism, and Cultural Selectionism [and Comments and Replies]

Cited by 43 publications

References 9 publications

The Darwinian Resurgence and the Cultural Virus Critique

The Darwinian Resurgence and the Cultural Virus Critique

The Specialist–Synthesis Approach to the Revival of Geography: The Case of Cultural Ecology

Biology and Behaviour in Human Evolution

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