https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_evolution

Reading about one of my favorite topics on Wikipedia. Culture evolution is the idea and associated phenomena that human cultures are shaped by evolution and natural selection. Some people find this view reductive, as if the point were that all behavior is determined by biology. But that’s not really the point. For me (as explained by Richard Dawkins), any information that is encoded in a durable and reproducible form, and that produces effects that would increase or decrease its survival, is subject to evolution by selection (natural or other). This simple loop of reproduction -> expression -> survival and back again underlies all forms of evolution, and so when I think of cultural evolution, I don’t necessarily think of Sociobiology, or biologically-driven behavior, but rather the idea that culture encodes information and reproduces itself, and competes over dominance for the collective psyche in which it resides (survival).

I always mean to go deeper on the subject but never do, so I’ve pretty much only got my own thoughts to think about for now. The article is a valuable source for next steps, should I ever get around to pursuing them.

I’ve got much more to say on this subject but nothing in particular to say now.