24 JAN 2015 by ideonexus
Tyranny of the Gene Tempered by Junk DNA
The analogies between the genetic evolution of biological species and the cultural evolution of human societies have been brilliantly explored by Richard Dawkins in his book The Selfish Gene. The book is mainly concerned with biological evolution; the cultural analogies are only pursued in the last chapter. Dawkins's main theme is the tyranny which the rigid demands of the replication apparatus have imposed upon all biological species throughout evolutionary history. Every species is the pris... 1 
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notes24 JUN 2013 by ideonexus
Sexual Selection to Explain Human Intelligence
Even if the survivalist theory could take us from the world of
natural history to our capacities for invention, commerce, and knowledge, it cannot account for the more ornamental and enjoyable aspects of human culture: art, music, sports, drama, comedy, and political ideals. At this point the survivalist theories usually point out that along the transverse lies the Central Park Learning Center. Perhaps the ornamental frosting on culture's cake arose through a general human ability to learn ne...Folksonomies: sexual selection mating
Folksonomies: sexual selection mating
1 notes
notesHuman intelligence goes too far and is too artistically-bent, rather than scientifically-bent, to have evolved for survival alone. We should entertain the possibility that our big brains evolved for the same reasons peacocks have ornate tails.
18 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
The Laws of Anthropology
Anthropology has reached that point of development where the careful investigation of facts shakes our firm belief in the far-reaching theories that have been built up. The complexity of each phenomenon dawns on our minds, and makes us desirous of proceeding more cautiously. Heretofore we have seen the features common to all human thought. Now we begin to see their differences. We recognize that these are no less important than their similarities, and the value of detailed studies becomes app...Folksonomies: natural history anthropology
Folksonomies: natural history anthropology
1 notes
notesAnthropologists need a firm and accurate grasp of history before they can begin to induct laws from it.
01 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
Homogenization of the Milky Way
It is possible to speculate on the very distant future of advanced civilizations. We
can imagine such societies in excellent harmony with their environments, their
biology, and the vagaries of their politics, so that they enjoy extraordinarily long
lifetimes. Communications would long have been established with many other
such civilizations. The diffusion of knowledge, techniques, and points of view
would occur at the velocity of light. In time, the diverse cultures of the Galaxy,
involving a...Folksonomies: culture homogenization
Folksonomies: culture homogenization
1 notes
notesJust as human culture is undergoing a process of homogenization, culture of the Milky Way will eventually undergo the same.
03 MAY 2011 by ideonexus
If Nurture, Why Not More Variation in Human Culture?
Humanity is, of course, morally free to make and remake itself infinitely, but we do not do so. We stick to the same monotonously human pattern of organizing our affairs. If we were more adventurous, there would be societies without love, without ambition, without sexual desire, without marriage, without art. without grammar, without music, without st smiles—and with as many unimaginable novelties as are in that list. There would be societies in which women killed each other more often than... 1 notes
notesIf humans have free will, then there should be cultures without love, musics, and other social norms.
19 APR 2011 by ideonexus
Evolution from Inner-Philsophy to Natural Philosophy
There have always been two ways of looking for truth. One is to find concepts which are beyond challenge, because they are held by faith or by authority or the conviction that they are self-evident. This is the mystic submission to truth which the East has chosen, and which dominated the axiomatic thought of the scholars of the Middle Ages. So St. Thomas Aquinas holds that faith is a higher guide to truth than knowledge is: the master of medieval science puts science firmly into second place.... 1 notes
notesSummary of human culture moving from introspectively-revealed knowledge of the Dark Ages to the outward-viewing philosophy of naturalism.
