Title: Why Use An Evolutionary Perspective To Study Culture?

Abstract: Theodosius Dobzhansky famously wrote in 1973, “Nothing in biology makes sense except in light of evolution.” Biology is, of course, the study of living things. Humans are living things. Therefore, to study humans is to engage in biology. Yet, despite the prominent of Darwinian theory in the study of non-human animals, there is still widespread resistance to an evolutionary mindset when studying humans. Much of this is understandable. In the 1970s, Darwinian theory had little to say about human behavior and culture. Contributions from “social Darwinism” were racist and misguided, while evolutionary psychology has largely failed to capture the richness of the human experience. I will discuss an expanded view of evolutionary systems, including gene-culture coevolution and modern theories of cultural evolution, that show us why an evolutionary perspective offers much to the study of human cognition, behavior, and culture. I will highlight some of my own work in this area, focusing on formal models of identity, social learning, and collective problem-solving.

Biography
Paul Smaldino is a Professor of Cognitive and Information Science and a member of the Quantitative and Systems Biology graduate group at University of California Merced, and an external professor at the Santa Fe Institute. Smaldino studies how behaviors emerge and evolve under social, cultural, or ecological pressures, often  through the lens of mathematical and numerical modeling of social behavior and complex systems. Smaldino has degrees in physics and psychology and draws on this interdisciplinary background in his research.

Information for non-ITU participants: To enter the building (which is located in DR Byen), meet Jonas Juul here at 12:20 pm. He will let you in. Get in touch by writing Jonas Juul an email (see his website.)