Cultural Evolution - The Empirical and Theoretical Landscape (Paperback)

Since the dawn of social science, theorists have debated how and why societies appear to change, develop and evolve. Today, this question is pursued by scholars across many different disciplines and our understanding of these dynamics has grown markedly. Yet, there remain important areas of disagreement and debate: what is the difference between societal change, development and evolution? What specific aspects of cultures change, develop or evolve and why? Do societies change, develop or evolve in particular ways, perhaps according to cycles, or stages or in response to survival necessities? How do different disciplines-from sociology to anthropology to psychology and economics-approach these questions? This book provides complex and nuanced answers to these, and many other, questions. First, the book invites readers to consider the broad landscape of societal dynamics across human history, beginning with humanity's origins in small nomadic bands of hunter gatherers through to the emergence of post-industrial democracies. Then, the book provides a tour of several prominent existing theories of cultural change, development and evolution. Approaches to explaining cultural dynamics will be discussed across disciplines and schools of thought, from "meme" theories to established cumulative cultural evolutionary theories to newly emerging theories on cultural tightness-looseness. The book concludes with a call for theoretical integration and a frank discussion of some of the most unexamined structures that drive cultural dynamics across schools of thought.

General

Imprint:	Taylor & Francis
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Series:	Evolutionary Analysis in the Social Sciences
Release date:	March 2022
First published:	2022
Authors:	Kevin McCaffree
Dimensions:	229 x 152 x 22mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	266
ISBN-13:	978-1-03-211734-8
Categories:	Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social theory Books > Social sciences > Psychology > Social, group or collective psychology Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > General Books > Professional & Technical > Environmental engineering & technology > General Books > Sport & Leisure > Natural history, country life & pets > General Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social issues > General Books > Social sciences > Psychology > Philosophy & theory of psychology > General Books > Business & Economics > Business & management > Management & management techniques > Organizational theory & behaviour Books > Business & Economics > Industry & industrial studies > Primary industries > Agriculture & related industries Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Anthropology > Social & cultural anthropology > General
LSN:	1-03-211734-6
Barcode:	9781032117348

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