Human evolutionary history and contemporary evolutionary theory provide insight when assessing cultural group selection

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agustin Fuentes ◽  
Marc Kissel
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Group Selection ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Cultural Group ◽  
Cultural Group Selection ◽  
Relevant Evidence ◽  
Current Proposal

AbstractRicherson et al. provide a much needed roadmap for assessing cultural group selection (CGS) theory and for applying it to understanding variation between contemporary human groups. However, the current proposal lacks connection to relevant evidence from the human evolutionary record and requires a better integration with contemporary evolutionary theory. The article also misapplies the Fst statistic.

When is the spread of a cultural trait due to cultural group selection? The case of religious syncretism

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Santana ◽  
Raj Patel ◽  
Shereen Chang ◽  
Michael Weisberg
Keyword(s):  
Group Selection ◽  
Cultural Group ◽  
Cultural Groups ◽  
Cultural Group Selection ◽  
Cultural Trait ◽  
Cultural Systems ◽  
Cultural Traits ◽  
Religious Syncretism

AbstractThe reproduction of cultural systems in cases where cultural group selection may occur is typically incomplete, with only certain cultural traits being adopted by less successful cultural groups. Why a particular trait and not another is transmitted might not be explained by cultural group selection. We explore this issue through the case of religious syncretism.

Mother–infant cultural group selection

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
James S. Chisholm ◽  
David A. Coall ◽  
Leslie Atkinson
Keyword(s):  
Group Selection ◽  
Essential Role ◽  
Cultural Group ◽  
Cultural Group Selection

AbstractRicherson et al. argue that “cultural group selection plays an essential role in explaining human cooperation.” We believe that cooperation came first, making culture and thus cultural group selection possible. Cooperation and culture began – and begins – in mother–infant interaction.

Can Group-Functional Behaviors Evolve by Cultural Group Selection?: An Empirical Test

1995 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 473-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Soltis ◽  
Robert Boyd ◽  
Peter J. Richerson
Keyword(s):  
Group Selection ◽  
Empirical Test ◽  
Cultural Group ◽  
Cultural Group Selection

scholarly journals Cultural group selection is plausible, but the predictions of its hypotheses should be tested with real-world data

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Turchin ◽  
Thomas E. Currie
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Group Selection ◽  
Cultural Group ◽  
Real World Data ◽  
World Data ◽  
Cultural Group Selection ◽  
Target Article

AbstractThe evidence compiled in the target article demonstrates that the assumptions of cultural group selection (CGS) theory are often met, and it is therefore a useful framework for generating plausible hypotheses. However, more can be said about how we can test the predictions of CGS hypotheses against competing explanations using historical, archaeological, and anthropological data.

Cultural differentiation does not entail group-level structure: The case for geographically explicit analysis

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Malcolm Ross ◽  
Quentin Douglas Atkinson
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Patterns ◽  
Group Selection ◽  
Group Structure ◽  
Level Structure ◽  
Cultural Variation ◽  
Cultural Group ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Cultural Group Selection ◽  
Cultural Differentiation ◽  
Explicit Analysis

AbstractRicherson et al. argue that relatively large culturalFSTvalues provide evidence for group structure and therefore scope for group selection. However, recent research on spatial patterns of cultural variation demonstrates that, as in the genetic case, apparent group structure can be a consequence of geographic clines, not group barriers. Such a pattern limits the scope for cultural group selection.

Self-interested agents create, maintain, and modify group-functional culture

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manvir Singh ◽  
Luke Glowacki ◽  
Richard W. Wrangham
Keyword(s):  
Group Selection ◽  
Cultural Group ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Cultural Group Selection ◽  
Target Article

AbstractWe agree that institutions and rules are crucial for explaining human sociality, but we question the claim of there not being “alternatives to CGS [that] can easily account for the institutionalized cooperation that characterizes human societies” (target article, sect. 7). Hypothesizing that self-interested individuals coercively and collaboratively create rules, we propose that agent-based hypotheses offer viable alternatives to cultural group selection (CGS).

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