Evolutionary science has led to many practical applications of genetic evolution but few practical uses of cultural evolution. This is because the entire study of evolution was gene centric for most of the 20th century, relegating the study and application of human cultural change to other disciplines. The formal study of human cultural evolution began in the 1970s and has matured to the point of deriving practical applications. We provide an overview of these developments and examples for the topic areas of complex systems science and engineering, economics and business, mental health and well-being, and global change efforts.
Multilevel Cultural Evolution: From New Theory to Practical Applications
Other Publications
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Clinical Psychology is an Applied Evolutionary Science
Apr 27, 2023
Historically there has been only a limited relationship between clinical psychology and evolutionary science. This article considers the status of that relationship in light of a modern multi-dimensional and multi-level… -
Core Design Principles for Nurturing Organization-level Selection
Apr 27, 2023
Dynamic relationships between individuals and groups have been a focus for evolutionary theorists and modelers for decades. Among evolutionists, selfish gene theory promotes reductionist approaches while multilevel selection theory encourages… -
Updating Hayek on Cultural Multilevel Selection
Apr 20, 2023
Here is a provocative fact: Searching Web of Science for articles with the words complex adaptive system in the title yields 1006 results as of this writing; searching for articles…