The Origin and Evolution of Cultures (Evolution and Cognition)

Boyd, Robert,Richerson, Peter J.

ISBN 10: 019518145X / ISBN 13: 9780195181456

Published by Oxford University Press, 2005

About this Item

Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used textbooks may not include companion materials such as access codes, etc. May have some wear or writing/highlighting. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!

Seller Inventory # S_425331929

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Origin and Evolution of Cultures (Evolution and Cognition)
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 019518145X
• ISBN 13: 9780195181456
• Binding: paperback
• Condition: Good

About this title

Synopsis

Oxford presents, in one convenient and coherently organized volume, 20 influential but until now relatively inaccessible articles that form the backbone of Boyd and Richerson's path-breaking work on evolution and culture. Their interdisciplinary research is based on two notions. First, that culture is crucial for understanding human behavior; unlike other organisms, socially transmitted beliefs, attitudes, and values heavily influence our behavior. Secondly, culture is part of biology: the capacity to acquire and transmit culture is a derived component of human psychology, and the contents of culture are deeply intertwined with our biology. Culture then is a pool of information, stored in the brains of the population that gets transmitted from one brain to another by social learning processes. Therefore, culture can account for both our outstanding ecological success as well as the maladaptations that characterize much of human behavior. The interest in this collection will span anthropology, psychology, economics, philosophy, and political science.

About the Author

Peter J. Richerson is Professor of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of California, Davis.