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Extended evolutionary theory makes human culture more amenable to evolutionary analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 December 2007

Alex Mesoudi
Alex Mesoudi
Affiliation:
Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3RQ, United Kingdom. am786@cam.ac.ukhttp://amesoudi.googlepages.com
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Abstract

Jablonka & Lamb's (J&L's) extended evolutionary theory is more amenable to being applied to human cultural change than standard neo-Darwinian evolutionary theory. However, the authors are too quick to dismiss past evolutionary approaches to human culture. They also overlook a potential parallel between evolved genetic mechanisms that enhance evolvability and learned cognitive mechanisms that enhance learnability.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 30 , Issue 4 , August 2007 , pp. 374
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

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