Essays, Analyses and Meditations


Back to my essays | Back to the Philosophy pages | Author

Gene-culture Coevolution

  • There is widespread consensus that biological and cultural evolution are linked and proceed in parallel ("gene-culture coevolution")
  • We take for granted that genes have evolved towards a better organism, and that humans are the most sophisticated organism that Nature has created so far on this planet
  • It is, however, debatable if culture has also proceeded towards a better "organism". The kind of culture that wins is mass culture, not "high-brow" culture. The most famous musicians are Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Michael Jackson, Britney Spears and Lady Gaga, not the many (many) more avantgarde composers.
  • If culture is a superorganism, it is not clear that is evolving towards a more sophisticated form. It seems to be evolving in the opposite direction.