Which evolutionary model best explains the culture of honour?

Abstract

The culture of honour hypothesis offers a compelling example of how human psychology differentially adapts to pastoral and horticultural environments. However, there is disagreement over whether this pattern is best explained by a memetic, evolutionary psychological, dual inheritance, or niche construction model. I argue that this disagreement stems from two shortcomings: lack of clarity about the theoretical commitments of these models and inadequate comparative data for testing them. To resolve the first problem, I offer a theoretical framework for deriving competing predictions from each of the four models. In particular, this involves a novel interpretation of the difference between dual inheritance theory and cultural niche construction. I then illustrate a strategy for testing their predictions using data from the Human Relations Area File. Empirical results suggest that the aggressive psychological phenotype typically associated with honour culture is more common among pastoral societies than among horticultural societies. Theoretical considerations suggest that this pattern is best explained as a case of cultural niche construction.

The evolution of human music in light of increased prosocial behavior: a new model

“…The totality of available data supports the conclusion that this form of economic subsistence has generated a functional psychology that keeps playing a role in shaping conflicts across the globe (ibid.). Noteworthy, the aggressive psychological phenotype, typically associated with culture of honor, is more common amongst pastoral than horticultural societies [597].…”

The Generalized Selective Environment

“…As a further case study, let us take a specific instance of cultural evolution: the evolution of honor norms, which are a type of moral norms. In particular, I will build on the work of Stefan Linquist (Linquist 2016) What are honor cultures? They describe communities characterized by norms that endorse violence as a morally justified response to insults, sleights, or other reputation-lowering actions.…”

Why Did Memetics Fail? Comparative Case Study

“…First, adaptationism enabled researchers to formulate more detailed predictions about cultural variability, behavior, and its impact on biological fitness. Inversely, the focus on decoupling memetic fitness from the biological fitness means, for instance, that cultural practices should spread independently of ecological factors and thus the status of its hypotheses is similar to the null hypotheses (Linquist 2016).…”