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Human societies are characterized by complex and varied social systems that change through time due to communication and negotiation. Jérôme Rousseau makes cognitive complexity his starting point in an innovative study of how and why human societies evolve. The focus of Rousseau's enquiry is "middle-range" societies - a vast category between hunter-gatherers and states. Breaking away from traditional analyses of social evolution as a response to ecological constraints, he shows that social systems are maintained and transformed through self-interest and suggests that conflicts about sharing generate social transformations that result in inequality and increasingly encompassing socio-political structures. Rethinking Social Evolution is a wide-ranging exploration of how language and increased cognitive abilities constitute the motor of social evolution. Drawing on a wide range of ethnographic case studies, Rousseau offers a better understanding of how modern societies are the result of choices by people who both collaborate and compete.

Indians of North America --- Indigenous peoples --- Social systems --- Social systems. --- Social evolution --- Social evolution. --- Social life and customs. --- Growth. --- Evolution sociale. --- Evolution sociale --- Systemes sociaux. --- Systemes sociaux --- Autochtones --- Indiens d'Amerique --- Croissance. --- Moeurs et coutumes.

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Over the past few decades, a growing body of research has emerged from a variety of disciplines to highlight the importance of cultural evolution in understanding human behavior. Wider application of these insights, however, has been hampered by traditional disciplinary boundaries. To remedy this, in this volume leading researchers from theoretical biology, developmental and cognitive psychology, linguistics, anthropology, sociology, religious studies, history, and economics come together to explore the central role of cultural evolution in different aspects of human endeavor. The contributors take as their guiding principle the idea that cultural evolution can provide an important integrating function across the various disciplines of the human sciences, as organic evolution does for biology. The benefits of adopting a cultural evolutionary perspective are demonstrated by contributions on social systems, technology, language, and religion. Topics covered include enforcement of norms in human groups, the neuroscience of technology, language diversity, and prosociality and religion. The contributors evaluate current research on cultural evolution and consider its broader theoretical and practical implications, synthesizing past and ongoing work and sketching a roadmap for future cross-disciplinary efforts.

Linguistics --- Social change --- Sociology of culture --- Engineering sciences. Technology --- Religious studies --- Social evolution. --- Technological innovations --- Human evolution --- Evolution sociale --- Innovations --- Homme --- Social aspects. --- Religious aspects --- Aspect social --- Evolution --- Aspect religieux --- Social evolution --- Social aspects --- Cultural evolution --- Cultural transformation --- Culture, Evolution of --- Culture --- Religious aspects. --- COGNITIVE SCIENCES/General --- BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES/Evolution

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Culture is a unique and fascinating aspect of the human species. How did it emerge and how does it develop? Richard Dawkins suggested culture evolves and that memes are cultural replicators, subject to variation and selection in the same way as genes are in the biological world. Thus human culture is the product of a mindless evolutionary algorithm. Does this imply, as some have argued, that we are mere meme machines and that the conscious self is an illusion? This highly readable and accessible book extends Dawkins's theory, presenting for the first time a fully developed concept of cultural DNA. Distin argues that culture's development can be seen as the result of memetic evolution and as the product of human creativity. Memetic evolution is perfectly compatible with the view of humans as conscious and intelligent. This book should find a wide readership amongst philosophers, psychologists, sociologists and non-academic readers.

#SBIB:316.7C120 --- #SBIB:316.23H1 --- #SBIB:309H040 --- Cultuursociologie: algemene en theoretische werken --- Kennissociologie --- Populaire cultuur algemeen --- Culture --- Human evolution --- Social evolution --- Cultural evolution --- Cultural transformation --- Culture, Evolution of --- Evolution --- Social change --- Evolution (Biology) --- Physical anthropology --- Evolutionary psychology --- Human beings --- Cultural sociology --- Sociology of culture --- Civilization --- Popular culture --- Origin --- Social aspects --- Culture. --- Social evolution. --- Human evolution. --- Evolution sociale --- Homme --- Arts and Humanities --- Philosophy

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Through the study of civil society, the evolution of social relations, and the breakdown of social order, Order and Anarchy re-examines the role of violence in human social evolution. Drawing on anthropology, political science, and evolutionary theory, it offers a novel approach to understanding stability and instability in human society. Robert Layton provides a radical critique of current concepts of civil society, arguing that rational action is characteristic of all human societies and not unique to post-Enlightenment Europe. Case studies range from ephemeral African gold rush communities and the night club scene in Britain to stable hunter-gatherer and peasant cultures. The dynamics of recent civil wars in the former Yugoslavia, Chad, Somalia and Indonesia are compared to war in small-scale tribal societies, arguing that recent claims for the evolutionary value of violence have misunderstood the complexity of human strategies and the social environments in which they are played out.

Social stability. --- Violence. --- Social evolution. --- Civil society. --- Stabilité sociale --- Violence --- Evolution sociale --- Société civile --- Social contract --- Cultural evolution --- Cultural transformation --- Culture, Evolution of --- Culture --- Evolution --- Social change --- Violent behavior --- Social psychology --- Stability, Social --- Social history --- Sociology --- Progress --- Social Sciences --- Political Science

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Summarizing modern research on early hominid evolution from the apes six million years ago to the emergence of modern humans, this book is the first to present a synthetic discussion of many aspects of early human life.

Fossil hominids. --- Human evolution. --- Social evolution. --- Cultural evolution --- Cultural transformation --- Culture, Evolution of --- Culture --- Evolution --- Social change --- Evolution (Biology) --- Physical anthropology --- Evolutionary psychology --- Human beings --- Early man --- Fossil hominins --- Fossil man --- Hominids, Fossil --- Hominins, Fossil --- Human fossils --- Human remains (Archaeology) --- Primates, Fossil --- Paleoanthropology --- Origin --- Hominidae. --- Sociobiology. --- Fossil hominids --- Human evolution --- Social evolution --- Homme fossile --- Homme --- Evolution sociale