Abstract:

Arguments claiming that extensions of evolutionary theory, and cultural evolution in particular, are grounded not on metaphors or analogies but on a generalisation of evolutionary principles (e.g. Aldritch et al 2008) have been criticized as lacking proper ontological bases (Reydon & Scholz, 2015) or constituting a “modest unification” that provides guidance, but not explanation (Reydon, 2021). Baraghith (2023) deals with this by proposing shared ontological grounds for generalised evolutionary theory (GET) which, while based on cultural evolution, are argued to have independent evidence in other non-biological ‘evolutionary systems’ (e.g. ‘neural darwinism’), validating GET as strong unification. This work considers what constitutes ‘one evolutionary system’, and asks – can culture be considered one such system? Guided by proposals for the structure of evolutionary explanations (Bock, 2006; Reydon, 2023), this contribution suggests evolutionary systems might be characterized/demarcated through the particular processes involved in evolutionary explanations within each system – transmission, generation of variation, population structuration, etc. Given the particularities of different cultural systems, it is argued that culture constitutes not one single evolutionary system, but many. This provides a rebuttal to claims that cultural evolution is “reductionist” – but also suggests it depends on input from other approaches to the social and language sciences.

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