Evolutionary Theories of Cultural Change : An Empirical Perspective

Evolutionary Theories of Cultural Change: An Empirical Perspective Richard R. Nelson Columbia University Version: January18, 2005 Abstract Evolutionary theorizing in the social sciences has a long tradition, going back well before Darwin. Much of contemporary evolutionary theorizing by social scientists about the processes of change at work in various aspects of human culture for example science, technology, and business organization and practice – is motivated by the plausibility of an evolutionary theory as an explanation of the change going on, rather than by any deliberate attempt to employ Darwinian ideas. A considerable amount is known about the processes of change at work in these and other areas of human culture. Few of the contemporary proponents of a Universal Darwinism know much about this tradition, or about ongoing evolutionary research in the social sciences. Partly as a result, the standard articulations of a Universal Darwinism put forth by biologists and philosophers tends to be too narrow, in particular too much linked to the details of evolution in biology, to fit with what is known about cultural evolution. The objective of this essay is to broaden the discussion.