Description
Book SynopsisSince 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 disciplinesfrom sociology to anthropology to psychology and economicsapproach 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
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1. The Social Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness
Chapter 2. "Cultural Evolution," Descriptively
Chapter 3. Evolutionary Sociology
Chapter 4. Cyclic Theories
Chapter 5. Cumulative Cultural Evolution
Chapter 6. Memetics
Chapter 7. The Evolution of Norms, Values and Identities
Chapter 8. Toward an Integration and Theoretical Extension
