From mitochondria to meerkats, the natural world is full of spectacular examples of social behaviour. In the early 1960s Bill Hamilton changed the way we think about how such behaviour evolves. He introduced three key innovations - now known as Hamilton's rule, kin selection, and inclusive fitness - which have been enormously influential, but which remain the subject of fierce controversy. Hamilton's pioneering work kick-started a research program now known as social evolution theory. This is a book (...) about the philosophical foundations and future prospects of that program. Part I, "Foundations", is a careful exposition and defence of Hamilton's ideas, with a few modifications along the way. In Part II, "Extensions", Jonathan Birch shows how these ideas can be applied to phenomena including cooperation in micro-organisms, cooperation among the cells of a multicellular organism, and culturally evolved cooperation in the earliest human societies. Birch argues that real progress can be made in understanding microbial evolution, evolutionary transitions, and human evolution by viewing them through the lens of social evolution theory, provided the theory is interpreted with care and adapted where necessary. The Philosophy of Social Evolution places social evolution theory on a firm philosophical footing and sets out exciting new directions for further work. (shrink)

This study is based on the theory of emergence and introduces a hierarchical model of consciousness to analyze how consciousness emerges, propagates, and evolves within human level. By examining the interaction mechanisms between different hierarchical levels, it interprets complex phenomena such as individual desires, free will, and social evolution. Additionally, by exploring the possibility of consciousness transcending biological constraints, it analyzes potential future forms of consciousness. Finally, through a reflexive approach, this paper highlights that it is not only (...) a theoretical description of consciousness but also a self-proof of the theory itself. This research aims to provide a systematic theoretical framework for the nature of consciousness, individual behavior, and mechanisms of social evolution, while opening new directions for systems science and sociology. (shrink)

Morality can be adaptive or maladaptive. From this fact come polarizing disputes on the meta-ethical status of moral adaptation. The realist tracking account of morality claims that it is possible to track objective moral truths and that these truths correspond to moral rules that are adaptive. In contrast, evolutionary anti-realism rejects the existence of moral objectivity and thus asserts that adaptive moral rules cannot represent objective moral truths, since those truths do not exist. This article develops a novel evolutionary view (...) of natural law to defend the realist tracking account. It argues that we can identify objective moral truths through cultural group selection and that adaptive moral rules are likely to reflect such truths. (shrink)

The emergence of Large Language Models (LLMs) and advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) offer an opportunity for computational social science research at scale. Building upon prior explorations of LLM agent design, our work introduces a simulated agent society where complex social relationships dynamically form and evolve over time. Agents are imbued with psychological drives and placed in a sandbox survival environment. We conduct an evaluation of the agent society through the lens of Thomas Hobbes's seminal Social Contract (...) Theory (SCT). We analyze whether, as the theory postulates, agents seek to escape a brutish "state of nature" by surrendering rights to an absolute sovereign in exchange for order and security. Our experiments unveil an alignment: Initially, agents engage in unrestrained conflict, mirroring Hobbes's depiction of the state of nature. However, as the simulation progresses, social contracts emerge, leading to the authorization of an absolute sovereign and the establishment of a peaceful commonwealth founded on mutual cooperation. This congruence between our LLM agent society's evolutionary trajectory and Hobbes's theoretical account indicates LLMs' capability to model intricate social dynamics and potentially replicate forces that shape human societies. By enabling such insights into group behavior and emergent societal phenomena, LLM-driven multi-agent simulations, while unable to simulate all the nuances of human behavior, may hold potential for advancing our understanding of social structures, group dynamics, and complex human systems. (shrink)

Abstract Wealth accumulation is a uniquely human phenomenon that has shaped societies and civilizations throughout history. While lower forms of life engage in survival strategies such as food storage or territorial control, these behaviors do not equate to the symbolic and institutionalized concept of wealth that exists in human cultures. This paper explores whether wealth accumulation is best understood as an emergent property of human cognition and social interaction, or as a product of social evolution linked to (...) historical transformations such as the agricultural revolution. It argues that wealth accumulation is both: an emergent property of human symbolic reasoning and cooperation, and a cultural development that evolved alongside economic and social change. -/- . (shrink)

Influential thinkers such as Young, Sugden, Binmore, and Skyrms have developed game-theoretic accounts of the emergence, persistence and evolution of social contracts. Social contracts are sets of commonly understood rules that govern cooperative social interaction within societies. These naturalistic accounts provide us with valuable and important insights into the foundations of human societies. However, current naturalistic theories focus mainly on how social contracts solve coordination problems in which the interests of the individual participants are aligned, (...) not competition problems in which individual interests compete with group interests. In response, I set out to build on those theories and provide a comprehensive naturalistic account of the emergence, persistence and evolution of social contracts. My central claim is that social contracts have culturally evolved to solve cooperation problems, which include both coordination and competition problems. I argue that solutions to coordination problems emerge from “within-group” dynamics, while solutions to competition problems result largely from “between-group” dynamics. (shrink)

Only our lineage has ever used trackways reading to find unseen and unheard targets. All other terrestrial animals, including our great ape cousins, use scent trails and airborne odors. Because trackways as natural signs have very different properties, they possess an information-rich narrative structure. There is good evidence we began to exploit conspecific trackways in our deep past, at first purely associatively, for safety and orienteering when foraging in vast featureless wetlands. Since our own old trackways were recognizable they were (...) self-mirroring, triggering memories of what we had been up to in the past. Using them to find our way back to the band when temporarily lost or to re-find a resource-rich area discovered the day before enabled optimal foraging. Selection for daily reiteration of one’s own old trackways therefore triggered the evolution of what is distinctive about human cognition: the autobiographical or narrative (episodic) faculty for imaginative self-projection. This faculty enabled us to glean useful social information from the stories “told” by other band members’ old trackways, and created spin-off capacities for fast-track social learning. Resultant increases in socioecological complexity then created positive selective feedback loops for further entrenchment. Incrementally we became the ultra-social narrative-minded ape, capable of creating cumulative culture. (shrink)

En la segunda mitad del siglo XIX la filosofía positiva se consolidó como la corriente de pensamiento dominante en México, muchos pensadores la utilizaron como marco teórico para interpretar los acontecimientos pasados y proyectar elfuturo de la nación. Por su análisis, explicación e interpretación de la historia nacional México: su evolución social es la obra culminante del positivismo mexicano, pero para sorpresa nuestra ha sido poco estudiada por los especialistas, de ahí que sea necesario recuperarla. En este artículo nos (...) damos a esa tarea y para ello nos enfocaremos en analizar el método de investigación que emplea la obra así como el papel que cumple la historia dentro de la misma. Con ello se busca contribuir a los estudios sobre el positivismo mexicano al abordar, en una obra crucial, algunos de sus aspectos metodológicos, históricos y filosóficos. -/- In the second half of the nineteenth century the positive philosophy was consolidated as the dominant current of thought in Mexico, many thinkers used it as the theoretical framework to interpret past events and project the future of the nation. Because of its analysis, explanation and interpretation of the national Mexican history México: su evolución social is the culminating work of Mexican positivism. To our surprise, the work has been little studied by scholars hence it is necessary to recover it. In this article we want to do that task and for that we will focus on analyzing the research method used in the work as well as the role played by history within it. The aim then is to contribute to studies on Mexican positivism by approaching, in a crucial work, some of its methodological, historical and philosophical aspects. (shrink)

The evolution from pre-human primates to modern Homo sapiens is a complex one involving many domains, ranging from the material to the social to the cognitive, both at the individual and the community levels. This article focuses on a critical qualitative transition that took place during this evolution involving both the social and the cognitive domains. For the social domain, the transition is from the face-to-face forms of social interaction and organization that characterize the (...) non-human primates that reached, with Pan, a hiatus due to the centripetal effects that highly individualized behavior has on a social system. The transition is to the relation-based forms of social organization that evolved in the hominins ancestral to Homo sapiens and are universal in human societies today. For the cognitive domain, this transition involves going from behavior responding mainly to phenomenal level sensory inputs to behavior formed in accordance with the concept of a relation, initially abstracted from behavior patterns, then extending the concept of a relation beyond abstraction from behavior patterns to the concept of a relation generated recursively through constructing the relation of a relation. This extension made possible the construction of systems of relations; initially genealogical systems of relations constructed culturally using the logic of recursion, and subsequently, the symbolic, computational systems of kin term relations referred to by anthropologists as kinship terminologies. The latter are “constructed realities” in the sense this term is used by cultural anthropologists. It follows that the evolution of relation-based systems of social interaction is not adequately accounted for through population model evolutionary accounts such as the Dual Inheritance Theory of human evolution since “constructed realities” constitute collectively and publicly shared cultural knowledge rather than the individually and privately possessed knowledge that is assumed in the population model framework for human evolution. (shrink)

Humans are uncontroversially better than other species at learning from their peers. A key example of this is imitation, the ability to reproduce both the means and ends of others’ behaviours. Imitation is critical to the acquisition of a number of uniquely human cultural and cognitive traits. However, while authors largely agree on the importance of imitation, they disagree about the origins of imitation in humans. Some argue that imitation is an adaptation, connected to the ‘Mirror Neuron System’ that evolved (...) to facilitate action understanding and the learning of social behaviours. Others argue that imitation is a cultural practice learned in childhood, and that there is no evidence that it evolved genetically. We offer a third alternative that is consistent with both data that the human brain is optimised for imitation, and consistent with its being substantially learned. We hypothesise that at some point in human history humans underwent natural selection for two imitation-relevant abilities – specifically, (i) the tendency to be more attentive to our peers, and (ii) fine motor skill in the manual and oro-facial domains. These changes enabled us to excel at both learning to imitate, and learning by imitating. (shrink)

The study of cultural evolution has taken on an increasingly interdisciplinary and diverse approach in explicating phenomena of cultural transmission and adoptions. Inspired by this computational movement, this study uses Bayesian networks analysis, combining both the frequentist and the Hamiltonian Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) approach, to investigate the highly representative elements in the cultural evolution of a Vietnamese city’s architecture in the early 20th century. With a focus on the façade design of 68 old houses in Hanoi’s (...) Old Quarter (based on 78 data lines extracted from 248 photos), the study argues that it is plausible to look at the aesthetics, architecture, and designs of the house façade to find traces of cultural evolution in Vietnam, which went through more than six decades of French colonization and centuries of sociocultural influence from China. The in-depth technical analysis, though refuting the presumed model on the probabilistic dependency among the variables, yields several results, the most notable of which is the strong influence of Buddhism over the decorations of the house façade. Particularly, in the top 5 networks with the best Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) scores and p<0.05, the variable for decorations (DC) always has a direct probabilistic dependency on the variable B for Buddhism. The paper then checks the robustness of these models using Hamiltonian MCMC method and find the posterior distributions of the models’ coefficients all satisfy the technical requirement. Finally, this study suggests integrating Bayesian statistics in the social sciences in general and for the study of cultural evolution and architectural transformation in particular. (shrink)

The present article attempts at combining Big History potential with the potential of Evolutionary Studies in order to achieve the following goals: 1) to apply the historical narrative principle to the description of the star-galaxy era of the cosmic phase of Big History; 2) to analyze both the cosmic history and similarities and differences between evolutionary laws, principles, and mechanisms at various levels and phases of Big History. As far as I know, nobody has approached this task in a systemic (...) way yet. It appears especially important to demonstrate that many evolutionary principles, patterns, regularities, and rules, which we tend to find relevant only for higher levels and main lines of evolution, can be also applied to cosmic evolution. Moreover, almost everything that we know about evolution may be detected in the cosmic history, whereas many of the evolutionary characteristics are already manifested here in a rather clear and salient way. Of course, many of the characteristics are manifested in initial or nonsystematic forms but some features, on the contrary, appear to be more distinct just in the cosmic phase. And at the same time when many characteristics and features which are typical of biological and social evolution unexpectedly reveal their roots or protoforms at earlier phases, one becomes aware that the universal character of evolution is real and it can be detected in a number of manifestations. One should also bear in mind that the origin of galaxies, stars, and other celestial objects is the lengthiest evolutionary process among all evolutionary processes in the Universe. Such an approach opens new perspectives for our understanding of evolution and Big History, of their driving forces, vectors, and trends, it also creates a consolidated field for the multidisciplinary re-search. (shrink)

The article is devoted to the study of the evolution of socio-philosophical approaches to charity in the context of social development. The author analyzes the phenomenon of mercy through the prism of various philosophical traditions and views: Confucianism and the period of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, German classical philosophy, Russian religious philosophy, Western philosophical thought of the twentieth century, neo-Marxism and post-Marxism. The author comes to the conclusion that at different periods of the socio-philosophical thought development, the understanding (...) of mercy is different and receives a variety of interpretations: charity, love for neighbors, altruistic love-agape, the manifestation of the subject’s activity in the context of social practice, etc. Mercy appears as an inner motive based on compassion, sacrifice, and active participation in the needs of others. Moreover, the value of mercy permeates all religious trends, defining the role of a person in his/her interaction with all others. At the present stage of development, mercy can be considered as an element of the social ethics of responsibility, and also serves as a factor in the active participation of individuals in self-organizing self-government, the formation of civil associations with the aim of implementing reforms in society. (shrink)

Evolutionary ethics (EE) is a branch of philosophy that arouses both fascination and deep suspicion. It claims that Darwinian mechanisms and evolutionary data on animal sociality are relevant to ethical reflection. This field of study is often misunderstood and rarely fails to conjure up images of Social Darwinism as a vector for nasty ideologies and policies. However, it is worth resisting the temptation to reduce EE to Social Darwinism and developing an objective analysis of whether it is appropriate (...) to adopt an evolutionary approach in ethics. The purpose of this article is to ‘dedemonise’ EE while exploring its limits. I shall begin by presenting two ways of integrating a Darwinian way of thinking into the context of social and political sciences : Social Darwinism and what one could label ‘Pro-social Darwinism’. Next I will point out some of the fundamental errors on which Social Darwinism is grounded; this will help in understanding why contemporary evolutionary ethicists cannot possibly hold the views defended by this theory (unless they are inclined to intellectual dishonesty). On the contrary, EE seems more akin to a Pro-social Darwinian approach, except for the fact that it restricts its reflections to theoretical ethics. The second part of the paper (sections 3 to 7) provides a clear and detailed picture of EE as well as an analysis of its relevance at the different levels of ethics (descriptive, meta-, normative and practical). Special focus will be given to questions relating to the genesis of morals and the delicate shift from facts to norms. (shrink)

The formation of the Afroeurasian world-system was one of the crucial points of social evolution, starting from which the social evolution rate and effective-ness increased dramatically. In the present article we analyze processes and scales of global integration in historical perspective, starting with the Agrarian Revolution. We connect the main phases of historical globalization with the processes of development of the Afroeurasian world-system. In the framework of the Afroeurasian world-system the integration began a few thousand years (...) Before the Common Era. In this world-system the continental and supracontinental links became rather developed long before the Great Geographic Discoveries and thus, they could quite be denoted as global (albeit in a somehow limited sense). As some researchers are still inclined to underestimate the scale of those links in the pre-Industrial era, it appears necessary to provide additional empirical support for our statement. It also turns necessary to apply a special methodology (which necessitated the use of the world-system approach). We analyze some versions of periodization of history of globalization. We also propose our own periodization of globalization using as its basis the growing scale of intersocietal links as an indicator of the level of globalization development. (shrink)

This is an epistemologically-driven history of the concept of evolution. Starting from its inception, this work will follow the development of this pregnant concept. However, in contradistinction to previous attempts, the objective will not be the identification of the different meanings it adopted through history, but conversely, it will let the concept to be unfolded, to be explicated and to express its own inner potentialities. The underlying thesis of the present work is, therefore, that the path that leads to (...) the development of the concept of evolution is the path that studies the possibilities of the evolution of concepts, and that the historical reconstruction of its conceptual trajectory will shed light into potential and unexploited possibilities. This methodology will provide useful tools and resources for future developments of the concept. For example, it will define the concept of transmutation as a different conceptual trajectory deviating from the one corresponding to evolution, at the onset of the 19th century. Moreover, epigenesis will not be the opposing concept to evolution, but only to simultaneous and instantaneous generation. It will demonstrate that every important system of epigenesis drew upon some kind of formative power to explain development. More importantly, it will show that the problem of preformation cannot be overlooked, and that some kind of virtual preformation must be considered in order to address the problems of generation and development. (shrink)

What makes fast, cumulative cultural evolution work? Where did it come from? Why is it the sole preserve of humans? We set out a self-assembly hypothesis: cultural evolution evolved culturally. We present an evolutionary account that shows this hypothesis to be coherent, plausible, and worthy of further investigation. It has the following steps: (0) in common with other animals, early hominins had significant capacity for social learning; (1) knowledge and skills learned by offspring from their parents began (...) to spread because bearers had more offspring, a process we call CS1 (or Cultural Selection 1); (2) CS1 shaped attentional learning biases; (3) these attentional biases were augmented by explicit learning biases (judgements about what should be copied from whom). Explicit learning biases enabled (4) the high-fidelity, exclusive copying required for fast cultural accumulation of knowledge and skills by a process we call CS2 (or Cultural Selection 2), and (5) the emergence of cognitive processes such as imitation, mindreading and metacognition – ‘cognitive gadgets’ specialised for cultural learning. This self-assembly hypothesis is consistent with archaeological evidence that the stone tools used by early hominins were not dependent on fast, cumulative cultural evolution, and suggests new priorities for research on ‘animal culture’. (shrink)

A shared narrative in the literature on the evolution of cooperation maintains that social _learning_ evolves early to allow for the transmission of cumulative culture. Social _norms_, whilst present at the outset, only rise to prominence later on, mainly to stabilise cooperation against the threat of defection. In contrast, I argue that once we consider insights from social epistemology, an expansion of this narrative presents itself: An interesting kind of social norm — an epistemic coordination (...) norm — was operative in early and important instances of specialised social learning. I show how there’s a need for such norms in two key social learning strategies and explain how this need is constituted. In assessor-teaching (e.g. Castro et al., 2019b, 2021), epistemic coordination norms allow agents to coordinate around the _content_ of social learning, i.e., what is to be known and how this is to be done. These norms also allow agents to coordinate around the form of cultural learning in what’s sometimes called strategic social learning (Laland, 2004; Hoppitt & Laland, 2013; Heyes, 2018, Chap. 5) and elsewhere. Broadly speaking, this concerns how cultural learning is organised within the social group. The upshot is that the evolution of social learning and social norms are intertwined in important and underappreciated ways from early on. The above matters as it informs our views about the evolution of social norms more generally. Truly _social_ norms emerged to coordinate a plurality of complex behaviours and interactions, amongst them specialised social learning. I substantiate this view by contrasting it with Jonathan Birch’s views on the evolution of norms. What results is a general but cohesive narrative on the early evolution of social norms. (shrink)

The article proposes to further develop the ideas of the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis by including into evolutionary research an analysis of phenomena that occur above the organismal level. We demonstrate that the current Extended Synthesis is focused more on individual traits (genetically or non-genetically inherited) and less on community system traits (synergetic/organizational traits) that characterize transgenerational biological, ecological, social, and cultural systems. In this regard, we will consider various communities that are made up of interacting populations, and for which (...) the individual members can belong to the same or to different species. Examples of communities include biofilms, ant colonies, symbiotic associations resulting in holobiont formation, and human societies. The proposed model of evolution at the level of communities revises classic theorizing on the major transitions in evolution by analyzing the interplay between community/social traits and individual traits, and how this brings forth ideas of top-down regulations of bottom-up evolutionary processes (collaboration of downward and upward causation). The work demonstrates that such interplay also includes reticulate interactions and reticulate causation. In this regard, we exemplify how community systems provide various non-genetic ‘scaffoldings’, ‘constraints’, and ‘affordances’ for individual and sociocultural evolutionary development. Such research complements prevailing models that focus on the vertical transmission of heritable information, from parent to offspring, with research that instead focusses on horizontal, oblique and even reverse information transmission, going from offspring to parent. We call this reversed information transfer the ‘offspring effect’ to contrast it from the ‘parental effect’. We argue that the proposed approach to inheritance is effective for modelling cumulative and distributed developmental process and for explaining the biological origins and evolution of language. (shrink)

Drawing on both empirical evidence and evolutionary considerations, Sperber et al. argue that humans have a suite of evolved mechanisms for ‘epistemic vigilance’. On their view, vigilance plays a crucial role in ensuring the reliability and hence the evolutionary stability of communication. This article responds to their argument for vigilance, drawing on additional empirical evidence (from deception detection research) and evolutionary considerations (from animal signalling research) to defend a more optimistic, quasi-Reidian view of communication. On this alternative view, the lion’s (...) share of the responsibility for explaining the reliability of testimony falls not to the vigilance of receivers but rather to the honesty of communicators, implying that vigilance does not play a major role in explaining the evolutionary stability of communication. (shrink)

Informational Evolution and Multidimensional Systems This text proposes a multidimensional framework for understanding evolution, human systems, and existence itself through the lens of information theory. Key insights address the following questions: 1. How does evolution extend beyond genetic mechanisms? Evolution operates through four interconnected dimensions: genetic, epigenetic (heritable gene expression changes), behavioral (learned practices), and symbolic (language, culture). These channels interact reciprocally, enabling organisms to reshape environments, which in turn influence selection pressures. This expanded view challenges (...) gene-centric models, emphasizing developmental plasticity, niche construction, and cultural inheritance as co-drivers of adaptation. 2. What forces govern human institutions? Human systems—from nations to online communities—are shaped by three axes: - Freedom: The range of choices and autonomy available, analogous to evolutionary variation. - Power: The distribution of control, determining which ideas/behaviors thrive (akin to selection). - Resources: Material and informational constraints that enable or limit growth. These dimensions create feedback loops: resource distribution affects power dynamics, while power structures constrain or enable freedom. 3. Why do individuals tolerate suboptimal systems? Institutional resilience arises from exit barriers (material, social, or cognitive costs of leaving), loss aversion (preference for stability over uncertain change), and loyalty (identity-based commitment). Systems persist not because they are optimal but due to path dependence, vested interests, and narratives that legitimize their existence. 4. How do language and culture shape systemic participation? Language and embodied cognition act as filters, structuring perception and framing possibilities. Cultural narratives (e.g., meritocracy, market logic) normalize systemic norms, while metaphors rooted in bodily experience (e.g., “power hierarchies”) unconsciously guide reasoning. These filters constrain innovation by rendering alternatives inconceivable or illegitimate. 5. How do humans and institutions co-evolve? Through niche construction, humans create environments (e.g., cities, technologies) that alter selection pressures, driving genetic, cognitive, and cultural adaptations. Conversely, institutions evolve via feedback from human behavior—a dynamic termed gene-culture coevolution. For example, dairy farming selected for lactase persistence, while digital tools now reshape cognition and social dynamics. 6. What is the fundamental nature of existence? Reality is understood as a series of informational processes: biology operates like culture, functioning as individual and collective software programs based on rules—such as those of evolutionary theory—and consciousness acts as driver and an observer of the interface, perceiving a portion of symbolic codes as information. Physical laws, genetic constraints, and cultural norms constitute “syntax” governing these processes. Evolution and societal change are thus akin to iterative code revisions, constrained by logical consistency and historical paths. -/- Implications: This framework integrates biological, cultural, and cognitive evolution into a unified theory of information. It suggests that addressing global challenges—from inequality to ecological crises—requires debugging systemic “code” by reshaping narratives, redistributing resources, and leveraging co-evolutionary feedback. Existence, as a self-writing informational text, positions humans as both products and authors of evolutionary dynamics. (shrink)

-/- The Evolution of Monogamy: A Scientific Analysis Through the Lens of the Universal Formula of Free Will -/- Angelito Malicse -/- Abstract -/- This paper explores the evolution of monogamy in human societies through the framework of a universal formula addressing the problem of free will. Anchored in three universal laws—the Law of Karma (systemic cause and effect), the Law of Homeostasis (natural balance), and the Law of Feedback Mechanism (interaction between consciousness and environment)—this analysis provides a (...) scientific and philosophical rationale for the natural emergence and social reinforcement of monogamous behavior. The discussion includes biological, psychological, cultural, and epidemiological perspectives, particularly focusing on the health-related consequences of promiscuity, including the spread of sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS. The paper also examines why some cultures and religions permit polygamy, contextualizing this within environmental and societal factors. By applying these universal laws, this paper concludes that monogamy is not only a social construct but also an evolved system of natural balance that supports human survival, well-being, and stability. -/- 1. Introduction -/- The question of why monogamy evolved among humans has long been explored in biology, anthropology, psychology, and sociology. Traditional explanations often focus on moral or religious grounds. However, this paper offers a broader scientific explanation grounded in a universal framework that explains all human decision-making as subject to natural laws. Specifically, this paper uses Angelito Malicse’s universal formula—comprised of the Law of Karma, the Law of Homeostasis, and the Law of Feedback Mechanism—to understand monogamy as an evolved, balanced, and feedback-regulated system for ensuring reproductive and societal success. -/- 2. The Law of Karma: Systemic Cause and Effect -/- In the context of the universal formula, the Law of Karma refers to the principle that every action within a system yields consequences. From an evolutionary standpoint, monogamous pair bonding has consistently produced positive outcomes: -/- Increased offspring survival due to biparental care. -/- Enhanced emotional security for both parents and children. -/- Cooperative household units that function as stable micro-systems within larger communities. -/- As in any well-functioning machine or biological system, the absence of defects—or in this case, behaviors that introduce instability such as sexual infidelity or unregulated promiscuity—leads to higher efficiency and reliability. Monogamy thus evolved as a cause-effect optimized behavior that supports the effective functioning of reproductive and social systems. Its systemic advantages became encoded in cultural norms and legal structures because they helped societies function without internal collapse. -/- 3. The Law of Homeostasis: Natural Balance -/- Homeostasis, the principle of internal and external balance, is central to all living systems. Human relationships, being dynamic and emotionally complex, require a balance between individual desires and collective well-being. -/- Monogamy provides a psychosocial equilibrium: -/- Internally, it satisfies emotional needs such as attachment, trust, and psychological security. -/- Externally, it stabilizes communities by reducing competition, conflict, and confusion in paternity and inheritance. -/- Unregulated sexual behavior disrupts this balance. In particular, polygamous and highly promiscuous societies without strong support systems often face increased domestic conflict, paternal uncertainty, and resource dilution. -/- Furthermore, monogamy significantly reduces exposure to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including HIV/AIDS. Scientific studies have shown that stable, long-term sexual relationships dramatically lower the risk of contracting and spreading STDs (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2023). Promiscuity without protection disrupts biological homeostasis by introducing health risks that compromise not only the individual but the entire social fabric. Hence, monogamy serves as a biological and societal immune system against behavioral and microbial imbalances. -/- 4. Polygamy in Cultural and Religious Contexts: Adaptive Exceptions to Monogamy -/- While monogamy is the predominant mating system in most modern societies, polygamy has historically and presently been accepted or encouraged in various cultures and religions. From the perspective of the universal laws, these exceptions can be understood as adaptive responses to specific environmental and societal conditions. -/- Resource Distribution and Social Structure: In environments where resources such as land, wealth, or livestock are abundant and concentrated in the hands of few, polygamy can serve to consolidate power and wealth within families. The Law of Karma explains that such systems arise when their effects—social cohesion among elites, alliance-building, and reproduction of social status—outweigh the systemic defects such as resource strain or familial jealousy. -/- Demographic Imbalances: Polygamy may also evolve as a response to skewed sex ratios, often caused by war, migration, or other factors that reduce the number of males. The Law of Homeostasis recognizes polygamy as a balancing mechanism where reproductive potential is maximized despite demographic challenges, ensuring population stability. -/- Cultural and Religious Norms: Some religious traditions institutionalize polygamy to uphold these adaptive functions. For example, in parts of Islam and traditional African societies, polygamy is permitted and regulated, reflecting both spiritual interpretations and pragmatic social responses. The Law of Feedback Mechanism highlights that such norms are reinforced by positive social feedback in these contexts, where polygamy supports social order, economic stability, and lineage continuation. -/- Limitations and Risks: Despite these adaptive benefits, polygamy can challenge homeostasis by increasing competition among co-wives and offspring, potentially leading to social instability or health risks. Moreover, polygamous structures may elevate the risk of STDs if sexual networks expand unchecked, underscoring the importance of social regulation and health education. -/- In summary, polygamy emerges as a context-dependent adaptation shaped by natural laws, reflecting the dynamic balance between environment, social structure, and human behavior. -/- 5. The Law of Feedback Mechanism: Conscious-Environmental Interaction -/- Human decision-making is shaped by constant feedback between the mind and its environment. Through generations of trial and error, societies that practiced monogamy—or at least social structures that emphasized stable pair bonding—received positive feedback in the form of lower child mortality, social cohesion, and long-term cooperation. -/- This feedback reinforced certain neurobiological developments: -/- The rise of pair-bonding hormones like oxytocin and vasopressin. -/- The development of emotional responses such as sexual jealousy, which function as natural deterrents to infidelity. -/- Cultural norms, taboos, and legal mechanisms that punish infidelity and reward loyalty. -/- Even in the modern world, the HIV/AIDS epidemic offered a powerful feedback signal to societies: unregulated sexual behavior without monogamous discipline can lead to deadly consequences. This reinforced the value of sexual responsibility, fidelity, and education. The rise of global public health campaigns promoting “faithfulness” as one pillar of STD prevention confirms the role of environmental feedback in shaping individual behavior (World Health Organization [WHO], 2022). -/- 6. Conclusion -/- Using the universal formula that governs free will, monogamy can be scientifically explained as an evolved, feedback-driven behavioral strategy rooted in cause-effect optimization and natural balance. It is not merely a cultural invention or moral preference—it is a systemically sound, biologically adaptive, and socially stabilizing response to complex human needs and environmental pressures. -/- Exceptions such as polygamy are understood as adaptive strategies shaped by specific ecological, demographic, and social conditions, regulated by cultural and religious frameworks. From protecting offspring to preventing diseases such as HIV/AIDS, monogamy functions as a naturally selected strategy that helps individuals and societies avoid chaos, disease, and moral confusion. Through the laws of Karma, Homeostasis, and Feedback, monogamy emerges as a deeply rooted survival mechanism in the evolutionary development of human civilization. -/- References -/- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2023). Sexually transmitted diseases treatment guidelines. -/- Fisher, H. (1992). Anatomy of Love: A Natural History of Mating, Marriage, and Why We Stray. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. -/- Hrdy, S. B. (1999). Mother Nature: A History of Mothers, Infants, and Natural Selection. New York: Pantheon Books. -/- Marlowe, F. W. (2000). The evolutionary ecology of human pair bonds. Current Anthropology, 41(2), 269-291. -/- World Health Organization (WHO). (2022). HIV/AIDS. -/- Barash, D. P., & Lipton, J. E. (2001). The Myth of Monogamy: Fidelity and Infidelity in Animals and People. New York: W.H. Freeman. -/- . (shrink)

This article examines the evolution of industrial revolutions and their influence on international law, from initial mechanization to the challenges of the digital age. The First Industrial Revolution spurred the consolidation of the first humanitarian treaties and international technical agreements, linking technological progress with the need for legal regulation. The Second Industrial Revolution, marked by electricity and mass production, generated an expansion of norms surrounding intellectual property, labor rights, and the limitations of mechanized warfare. The Third Industrial Revolution, characterized (...) by automation and the expansion of information technology, strengthened an international institutional framework that included the United Nations and specialized agencies, along with new environmental, economic, and human rights regimes. Revolution 4.0, defined by artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and digitalization, poses unprecedented challenges to state sovereignty, human dignity, and legal accountability, highlighting the inadequacy of traditional regulatory frameworks. Debates are emerging regarding autonomous weapons, algorithmic governance, and digital trade, which require adaptive and polycentric regulations. Finally, Revolution 5.0 proposes a human-centric and sustainable paradigm that seeks to reorient technological development toward global justice, intergenerational equity, and the protection of digital rights. Overall, it concludes that the transition from fragmented international law to flexible and polycentric governance is imperative to effectively respond to contemporary technological challenges, preserving peace, justice, and fundamental rights in an increasingly complex global landscape. (shrink)

Aspects of human symbolic evolution are studied by scholars active in a variety of fields and disciplines in the life and the behavioral sciences as well as the scientific-philosophical, sociological, anthropological, and linguistic sciences. These fields and disciplines all take on an evolutionary approach to the study of human symbolism, but scholars disagree in their theoretical and methodological attitudes. Theoretically, symbolism is defined differentially as knowledge, behavior, cognition, culture, language, or social group living. Methodologically, the diverse symbolic (...) class='Hi'>evolution sciences establish their teachings upon diverging evolutionary biological schools and paradigms. This chapter reviews past and current research fields in human symbolic evolution for how they differentially implement tenets of the major evolution schools that were discussed in the previous chapter. Traditional evolutionary epistemology and biosemiotics bring in a mesoevolutionary outlook by drawing on early Darwinism and evolutionary developmental biology movements that emphasize the role of the organism in evolution. Communication studies instead originally take on a microevolutionary perspective by investigating how units of information are transmitted across generations through time. Only later do they integrate studies on meaning-making at the organismal level. Sociobiology complements a microevolutionary with a macroevolutionary outlook by implementing population genetic approaches, typical of the Modern Synthesis, into studies on individual and group behavior. The new symbolic evolutionary sciences build upon these traditions and include disciplines such as evolutionary psychology, evolutionary linguistics, evolutionary anthropology, evolutionary archaeology, evolutionary sociology, and evolutionary economics. Originally centered on implementing Darwinian selection theory, these fields are now including ecological and evolutionary developmental biology as well as reticulate evolutionary paradigms. As diverse in outlook and scope as they are, no discipline holds a privileged position over the other and all have made valuable contributions to our understanding of human symbolic evolution. (shrink)

Due to its prominent role in human sociality, robotics researchers have increasingly considered to what extent reciprocity might be important in human-robot interaction, and whether it should be included as a design feature in social robots. However, very little has been said of the original function of reciprocity. Indeed, evolutionary biology has revealed that reciprocity evolved to foster cooperation among human groups, yet this fact has for the most part remained unexplored in the robotics literature. In this chapter, I (...) aim to change that. Specifically, I examine what we know about the evolution of reciprocity in humans and consider to what extent this knowledge can weigh in on discussions about social robots. I argue that the evolutionary account of reciprocity not only helps deflect van Wynsberghe’s (2022) arguments against using reciprocity as a design feature in social robots; it also reveals that reciprocity is a more complex phenomenon than is currently represented in the robotics literature. Indeed, there is direct reciprocity and indirect reciprocity, and robot designers should take both into account if they want to most effectively enhance human-robot relations. (shrink)

What might be the fundamental psychology of intelligence naturally selected in biological evolution to minimize, prevent, and cure social and personal issues like war, crime, commit suicide, homicide, theft, drug addictions, and so on? How to achieve a higher level of well-being? I found a primary cognitive limiting factor called mind viruses (MV)(more than 3000) which regresses intelligence and well-being and makes the grand delusion: remedies are healthy mind viruses(HMV)(3000). Here, I show the disclosed core of early Buddhist (...) teachings (on learning, training the mind, and behavior on the 8-fold psychological course psychologically 'program' for better (intelligent) decisions. A theoretical 3D graph might represent the state of evolution of intelligence, nature, nurture, X-ultra quantum unique consciousness particle (X-UQUPC), and psychological well-being with the psychological time of a person. To this hypothesis, if the afterlife occurs, the natural selection of vacant zygote/early embryo neurons of the next life and their quality might depend on the finally evolved X-ultra quantum genomic particle of consciousness (X-UQGPC). Therefore, the quality, including the species of the new life and its nurture in the universe/s, depends on the quality of the finally evolved X-UQGPC. Such natural selection of a new nurturing environment for future (promising)life might be uncertain and, therefore, a high risk of finding a life-consciousness in great nature and nurture. However, there may be more mysterious issues to be solved in future research; therefore, the article might not discuss a theory of everything on the central theme. -/- . (shrink)

The Evolution and Purpose of Positive and Negative Human Emotions as a Balancing Mechanism of the Mind -/- Angelito Malicse’s universal formula emphasizes the universal law of balance in nature, which governs all systems, including the human mind. By this understanding, emotions—both positive and negative—are not random phenomena but integral components of the mind’s natural balancing mechanism. They have evolved to ensure that human decision-making remains aligned with the law of balance, both internally (within the individual) and externally (in (...) relation to the environment). -/- The Evolution of Emotions -/- Throughout evolutionary history, emotions have developed as adaptive responses to the challenges of survival and reproduction. Positive emotions, such as joy, love, and contentment, likely emerged to encourage behaviors that promote well-being, social bonding, and cooperation. These emotions reward actions that sustain life and harmony, ensuring the continuation of the individual and the group. -/- Conversely, negative emotions, such as fear, anger, and sadness, evolved as warning signals to protect individuals from harm or to signal when something in the external or internal environment is out of balance. For example, fear alerts individuals to potential dangers, anger arises when boundaries are crossed or injustice is perceived, and sadness serves as a mechanism for processing loss and recalibrating goals. -/- Emotions as a Balancing Mechanism -/- Under the universal formula’s framework, human emotions act as feedback mechanisms that maintain the mind’s equilibrium. Positive emotions arise when the mind aligns with its natural and social environment, indicating that balance is achieved. Negative emotions, on the other hand, are more complex: while they evolved to signal imbalance and encourage corrective action, they can also create further imbalance if left unchecked. -/- Positive Emotions: Reinforcing Balance -/- Positive emotions foster behaviors that align with the universal law of balance. For instance: -/- Gratitude encourages appreciation for resources and relationships, promoting sustainable interactions with the environment and others. -/- Happiness serves as a reward for achieving goals that satisfy personal and collective needs, reinforcing balanced decision-making. -/- Compassion drives individuals to care for others, maintaining social harmony and collective well-being. -/- Negative Emotions: Signaling or Creating Imbalance -/- Negative emotions serve two roles: they can either act as signals to address imbalance or become sources of imbalance themselves. For example: -/- Fear may warn of potential danger and guide protective behavior, but excessive or irrational fear creates anxiety, disrupting the internal mind and external interactions. -/- Anger may highlight injustice, prompting corrective action, but unchecked anger can lead to destructive behaviors that harm relationships and social cohesion. -/- Moreover, some negative emotions inherently create imbalances, both internally and externally, when they dominate the mind: -/- Greediness fosters excessive accumulation of resources, often at the expense of others, disrupting external societal balance while breeding internal dissatisfaction. -/- Stinginess reflects an inability to share, creating friction in relationships and disrupting the natural flow of give-and-take in human interactions. -/- Jealousy breeds discontent and mistrust, harming social bonds and disrupting personal peace of mind. -/- Hatred leads to destructive behaviors, creating divisions in society and poisoning the individual’s emotional state. -/- Lustfulness focuses on excessive or unbalanced desires, leading to actions that can harm relationships and diminish long-term well-being. -/- These negative emotions, when not properly understood or managed, not only disturb the individual’s internal reality but also ripple outward to disrupt external realities, affecting relationships, communities, and even societal structures. -/- The Interplay of Emotions in Decision-Making -/- The law of karma, as described in the universal formula, emphasizes cause and effect within interconnected systems. Emotions play a crucial role in this process by guiding decision-making in accordance with natural laws. Positive emotions encourage actions that generate beneficial outcomes, while unmanaged or excessive negative emotions often drive harmful behaviors that disrupt balance. -/- For instance, greed and jealousy may lead to unethical actions in pursuit of material wealth, creating societal inequality and environmental degradation. Similarly, unchecked anger or hatred can lead to conflicts that destabilize communities and perpetuate suffering. Conversely, when individuals act with emotional awareness and align their decisions with positive emotions like compassion and gratitude, they contribute to internal peace and external harmony. -/- Emotions in Modern Contexts -/- In today’s complex world, emotions remain vital in navigating challenges, although societal and cultural influences can distort their function. Ignorance, false beliefs, and misinformation can exacerbate the imbalance caused by negative emotions. For example, modern consumerism often exploits greed and jealousy, leading to overconsumption and environmental damage. -/- This highlights the need for education and emotional intelligence. By understanding the purpose of emotions within the framework of the universal formula, individuals can recognize and manage negative emotions, ensuring they do not become sources of imbalance. -/- Conclusion -/- Positive and negative emotions are essential components of the mind’s natural balancing mechanism. Evolving over millennia, they have ensured humanity’s survival and adaptation by guiding decision-making in accordance with the universal law of balance. However, unchecked negative emotions—such as greediness, stinginess, jealousy, hatred, and lustfulness—create imbalances in both internal and external realities, leading to personal suffering and societal problems. -/- Within the context of Angelito Malicse’s universal formula, understanding and managing emotions is crucial to aligning human behavior with natural laws. By fostering positive emotions and addressing the root causes of negative emotions, humanity can minimize imbalances and create a more harmonious and balanced world. Through proper education and self-awareness, emotions can serve their true purpose as a guiding force for balance in both the individual and collective mind. -/- . (shrink)

In this work I propose a theory of evolution as a process of unfolding. This theory is based on four logically concatenated principles. The principle of evolutionary order establishes that the more complex cannot be generated from the simpler. The principle of origin establishes that there must be a maximum complexity that originates the others by logical deduction. Finally, the principle of unfolding and the principle of actualization guarantee the development of the evolutionary process from the simplest to the (...) most complex. These logical principles determine the existence of a virtual ideological matrix that contains the sequence of the preformed and folded morphogenetic fields. In this manner, the evolutionary process consists of the sequential unfolding and actualization of these fields, which is motorized by a process of teleologization carried out by the opening consciousness of the forms included in the fields of the ideological matrix. This theory leads to a radical change of perspective regarding the materialist worldview, and places life at the center of the evolutionary process as an activity carried out by a consciousness that seeks to fulfill a purpose by actualizing its own potentialities. (shrink)

In recent work, Atran, Henrich, Norenzayan and colleagues developed an account of religion that reconciles insights from the ‘by-product’ accounts and the adaptive accounts. According to their synthesis, the process of cultural group selection driven by group competition has recruited our proclivity to adopt and spread religious beliefs and engage in religious practices to increase within group solidarity, harmony and cooperation. While their account has much merit, I believe it only tells us half the story of how institutional religions have (...) evolved. Their cultural evolutionary account of religion only looks at the cultural dynamics arising from competition between groups, not at the dynamics arising from within the group. Drawing from game-theoretic analyses of the emergence and cultural evolution of social institutions, I outline two sets of important ‘within-group’ dynamics that shape institutional religions. The first follow from the necessity to keep the interaction of the participants in an equilibrium state in order to maintain the social institution. The second arise from the competition of institutional features for traction within the group. Bringing these dynamics into account enables us to explain prominent features of institutional religions that cannot be satisfactorily explained by the current model of the cultural evolution of religions. (shrink)

If humans have an evolved moral psychology, then we should not expect it to function in an identical way between individuals. Instead, we should expect a diversity in the function of our moral psychology between individuals that varies along genetic lines, and a corresponding diversity of moral attitudes and moral judgements that emerge from it. This is because there was no one psychological type that would reliably produce adaptive social behaviour in the highly heterogeneous environments in which our minds (...) evolved. As such, there was no single psychological type towards which evolution could gravitate. Instead we evolved a stable polymorphism of psychological types, maintained by frequency-dependent selection, each predisposed towards particular social and moral attitudes and behaviours. This can help explain the existence of moral diversity, particularly intra-cultural moral diversity, and seemingly intractable moral disagreement. (shrink)

Abstract -/- The evolution of information toward categorization is a universal phenomenon observed across physical, biological, cognitive, and social systems. This paper proposes that categorization emerges as a natural consequence of systemic constraints, feedback mechanisms, and the universal requirement for balance. Rather than being a purely human cognitive construct, categorization is shown to be a fundamental organizing principle of the universe. By integrating concepts from physics, biology, systems theory, cognitive science, and artificial intelligence, this paper presents a unified (...) framework explaining how categorization enables stability, adaptability, and coherence. The framework is then applied to four domains: free will, education, societal governance, and Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). The analysis demonstrates that failures in these domains are fundamentally failures of categorization that violate systemic balance. -/- . (shrink)

The evolution of architectural design has been shaped by various cultural, technological, and socio-political factors throughout history. This paper explores the historical progression of architectural styles, focusing on the medieval city of Kruja, Albania, and its unique blend of Byzantine, Ottoman, and local architectural influences. Kruja, with its strategic location and rich cultural heritage, has long served as a crossroads of different civilizations, which has greatly influenced its architectural development. The study highlights Kruja’s role in preserving and adapting architectural (...) heritage through centuries of foreign rule and political change by analyzing key design trends, structural techniques, and aesthetic elements and comparing them with broader Byzantine architectural principles. The paper examines notable structures within the city, such as the citadel, churches, and residential buildings, providing a detailed assessment of their historical, cultural, and architectural significance. Additionally, the study explores how these buildings reflect their time's social, religious, and military dynamics, offering insights into the resilience and transformation of Kruja's built environment. This research contributes to the understanding of how local traditions intersected with external influences to shape the architectural identity of one of Albania’s most iconic medieval cities. (shrink)

Abstract The concept of individuality is central to human experience and biological function, yet many philosophical and scientific traditions argue that it is, at its core, an illusion. This paper examines why individuality, even if not ultimately real in a metaphysical sense, must evolve within nature. Drawing from evolutionary biology, cognitive science, philosophy of mind, and systems theory, the argument presented here is that emerges as a functional individuality construct—an adaptive illusion necessary for survival, decision-making, and complex social behavior. (...) Though constructed, individuality serves as a crucial interface through which organisms interact with their environment and with one another. -/- . (shrink)

This article advances a function-first account of social and individual consciousness as the engine of cumulative cultural evolution. At the social level, joint attention (a We-mode) objectifies shared scenes and compels coordination; at the individual level, consciousness is modeled as an internalized listener that selectively admits thoughts bearing familiarity/affiliative markers. This selection compresses the meaning space and steers learning toward culturally alignable content, enabling rapid acquisition of language and shared meanings in children and scalable coordination in pre-linguistic (...) populations. Together, these mechanisms convert cheap, noisy variation—random thoughts, gestures, proto-utterances—into high-fidelity, transmissible representations, powering cultural accumulation across distance and time. The account yields testable predictions: (i) conversational asymmetries that privilege listener selectivity across cultures; (ii) developmental universals in early joint attention and fast learning under sparse input; and (iii) unconscious-to-conscious latency signatures consistent with filtering dynamics. By treating consciousness primarily as a selection-and-alignment device for human-relevant meanings, the view reframes qualia as the felt aftermath of acceptance by the internal listener and explains how social and individual consciousness jointly function as a cultural-evolution engine rather than as mere by-products. (shrink)

We are all guided by thousands of norms, but how did our capacity for normative cognition evolve? I propose there is a deep but neglected link between normative cognition and practical skill. In modern humans, complex motor skills and craft skills, such as toolmaking, are guided by internally represented norms of correct performance. Moreover, it is plausible that core components of human normative cognition evolved as a solution to the distinctive problems of transmitting complex motor skills and craft skills, especially (...) skills related to toolmaking, through social learning. If this is correct, the expansion of the normative domain beyond technique to encompass more abstract norms of fairness, reciprocity, ritual and kinship involved the elaboration of a basic platform for the guidance of skilled action by technical norms. This article motivates and defends this “skill hypothesis” for the origin of normative cognition and sets out various ways in which it could be empirically tested. (shrink)

The evolution of altruism in human societies has been intensively investigated in social and natural sciences. A widely acknowledged recent idea is the “parochial altruism model,” which suggests that inter- group hostility and intragroup altruism can coevolve through lethal intergroup conflicts. The current article critically examines this idea by reviewing research relevant to intergroup conflicts in human evolutionary history from evolutionary biology, psychology, cultural anthropology, and archaeology. After a brief intro- duction, section 2 illustrates the mathematical model of (...) parochial altruism and some critiques of the model and its interpretation, primarily from an evolutionary biology point of view. Section 3 delves into the archaeological evidence of prehistoric intergroup conflicts in the Japanese archipelago’s Jomon and Yayoi periods, Europe’s Mesolithic period, and North America’s Pacific period as counter examples of the paro- chial altruism model. In section 4, the ethnographies of intergroup relationships and conflicts reveal that intergroup relationships in many ethnic groups are not as simple as the assumption in the mathematical model of parochial altruism. In section 5, we outline psychological research on intergroup conflicts which suggest that intergroup hostility and ingroup altruism are not necessarily correlated. In conclusion, we argue that the assumption and parameter settings of the parochial altruism model are inconsistent with empirical data. (shrink)

Abstract This paper explores the potential evolution of human reproduction and family structures over the next million years. By examining biological evolution, technological advancements, and social and cultural dynamics, this study provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the long-term transformation of human reproductive behaviors and family constructs. It also considers speculative scenarios involving post-human reproduction and societal reorganization. -/- .

DARWIN’s (1859, 1871) discoveries have profound ethical implications that continue to be misrepresented and/or ignored. In contrast to socialdarwinistic misuses of his theory, Darwin was a great humanitarian who paved the way for an integrated scientific and ethical world view. As an ethical doctrine, socialdarwinism is long dead ever since its defeat by E. G. Moore although the socialdarwinistic thought is a hard-die in the biological community. The accusations of sociobiology for being socialdarwinistic are unfounded and stem from the moralistic (...) fallacy that is, a false assumption that morality is good by definition. Both social and developmental psychology demonstrate that the moral agency is a motivational device for executing reciprocity that remains at the core of any morality across all studied societies and throughout the ontogeny of moral judgment. The level of true universalizing ethical reflection (KOHLBERG’s postconvential stages or GIBBS’s existential phase) is achieved by a small minority of humans, thus showing that Homo sapiens is a moral but not an ethical animal. While the origin of reciprocity has been perfectly explained by sociobiology, the evolutionary assembly of affective and cognitive elements that make up the moral agency is being successfully studied by the social/personality/developmental psychology as extended to non-human primates. As DARWIN (1871) expected, the key innovation for the evolution of moral agency was the emergence of empathy that evolved independently at least three times: in elephants, dolphins and primates. Empathy has a motivational power of its own; it is also necessary for moral agency that requires two cognitive abilities: reflective self-consciousness and understanding of causality; the two make possible the attribution of responsibility. All these requirements are met by the chimpanzees whose moral agency operates in dyads. In contrast, the human moral agency allows for a third party intervention that opens up vast opportunities for ideologies, especially religions, to use and misuse the moral agency to enforce a reciprocation that may be harmful to both individuals and the entire group. Also, the moral agency is known to enforce enhanced intragroup cohesion and loyalty in response to conflict and war, which suggests that the two prima facie opposed human universals, morality and warfare, may have coevolved. The most important ethical consequence that follows from the increasing understanding of the primate moral agency is that every received morality is ethically flawed, none can be taken as a paragon of goodness, and each needs corrections by science-informed ethics. In fact, Darwin pioneered the integration of science and ethics, an approach that has come to be appreciated only recently under the heading of consilience. (shrink)

Abstract -/- Entertainment has been a fundamental aspect of human culture, evolving alongside social, technological, and psychological developments. While entertainment fulfills essential human needs such as social bonding, pleasure, and education, excessive exposure—particularly to passive, high-stimulation content—may hinder cognitive functions necessary for higher-level learning. This paper explores the historical evolution of entertainment, the psychological and social reasons behind its development, and the cognitive consequences of overexposure. It also suggests strategies for balancing entertainment consumption to optimize cognitive (...) engagement and learning. -/- . (shrink)

To reach sustainability transitions, we must learn to leverage social systems into tipping points, where societies exhibit positive-feedback loops in the adoption of sustainable behavioral and cultural traits. However, much less is known about the most efficient ways to reach such transitions or how self-reinforcing systemic transformations might be instigated through policy. We employ an agent-based model to study the emergence of social tipping points through various feedback loops that have been previously identified to constitute an ecological approach (...) to human behavior. Our model suggests that even a linear introduction of pro-environmental affordances (action opportunities) to a social system can have non-linear positive effects on the emergence of collective pro-environmental behavior patterns. We validate the model against data on the evolution of cycling and driving behaviors in Copenhagen. Our model gives further evidence and justification for policies that make pro-environmental behavior psychologically salient, easy, and the path of least resistance. (shrink)

This book explores the interaction between biology, sociology, and biosemiotics, emphasizing how biological and cultural processes intertwine to shape human evolution and social structures.

This book explores the interaction between biology, sociology, and biosemiotics, emphasizing how biological and cultural processes intertwine to shape human evolution and social structures. At its core lies the theory of dual inheritance, which posits that genes and cultural elements interact in a continuous feedback loop, mutually influencing each other and contributing to cultural evolution.

Today a change is imperative in approaching global problems: what is needed is not arm-twisting and power politics, but searching for ways of co-evolution in the complex social and geopolitical systems of the world. The modern theory of self-organization of complex systems provides us with an understanding of the possible forms of coexistence of heterogeneous social and geopolitical structures at different stages of development regarding the different paths of their sustainable co-evolutionary development. The theory argues that the (...) evolutionary channel to the observed increasing complexity is extremely narrow and only certain discrete spectra of relatively stable self-maintained structures are feasible in complex systems. There exists a restricted set of ways of assembling a complex evolutionary whole from diverse parts. The law of nonlinear synthesis of complex structures reads: the integration of structures in more complex ones occurs due to the establishment of a common tempo of their evolution. On the basis of the theory, we can see not only desirable but also attainable futures. (shrink)

This paper develops a formal account of bounded moral responsibility grounded in a single symmetrical principle. Every moral agent and every dependent being possess basic needs (BN): conditions, biologically determined yet socially elaborated, beneath which existence or flourishing would be impaired. In relations of care, these needs generate both the lower and upper bounds of moral sufficiency. The dependent’s basic needs (BNother) determine the minimum that must be met; the caregiver’s basic needs (BNself ) determine the maximum that can be (...) met without self-violation. The circumstantial limit is thus not an independent moral principle but the application of the same basic-needs constraint to the self: CL = BNself . This symmetry establishes an interval of enoughness within which care remains sustainable and morally adequate. Violating BNself not only constitutes self-cruelty but predictably degrades future capacity to satisfy BNother, producing a temporal interdependence between self- and other-directed obligation. When BNother structurally exceeds BNself , the resulting shortfall necessitates collective rather than individual responsibility. The framework thereby unifies sufficiency, sustainability, and moral consistency under a single structural principle of basic need. (shrink)

Der berühmte Ameisenmann E.O. Wilson war schon immer einer meiner Helden - nicht nur ein hervorragender Biologe, sondern eine der winzigen und verschwindenden Minderheit von Intellektuellen, die es zumindest wagt, die Wahrheit über unsere Natur anzudeuten, die andere nicht verstehen oder, soweit sie es verstehen, aus politischen Gründen unermüdlich vermeiden. Leider beendet er seine lange Karriere auf äußerst schäbige Weise als Partei eines ignoranten und arroganten Angriffs auf die Wissenschaft, der zumindest teilweise durch die religiöse Inbrunst seiner Harvard-Kollegenmotiviertist. Es zeigt (...) die abscheulichen Folgen, wenn Universitäten Geld von religiösen Gruppen annehmen, Wissenschaftszeitschriften von großen Namen so bewundert sind, dass sie eine ordnungsgemäße Peer Review vermeiden und wenn Egos außer Kontrolle geraten dürfen. Es führt uns in die Natur der Evolution, die Grundlagen der wissenschaftlichen Methodik, wie Mathematik mit Wissenschaft zusammenhängt, was eine Theorie ausmacht, und sogar, welche Einstellungen zu Religion und Großzügigkeit angemessen sind, wenn wir uns unaufhaltsam dem Zusammenbruch der industriellen Zivilisation nähern. Ich fand Abschnitte in 'Conquest' mit dem üblichen prägnanten Kommentar (obwohl nichts wirklich Neues oder Interessantes, wenn man seine anderen Werke gelesen hat und auf biologie im Allgemeinen ist) in der oftgestylten Prosa, die sein Markenzeichen ist, aber war ziemlich überrascht, dass der Kern des Buches seine Ablehnung inklusiver Fitness (die seit über 50 Jahren ein Standbein der Evolutionsbiologie ist) zugunsten der Gruppenauswahl ist. Man nimmt an, dass von ihm kommen und mit den articles er bezieht sich auf veröffentlicht von sich selbst und Harvard Mathematik Kollege Nowak in großen Peer-Review-Zeitschriften wie Nature, muss es ein wesentlicher Fortschritt sein,, trotz der Tatsache, dass ich wusste, Gruppenauswahl wurde fast überall abgelehnt, da mit jeder großen Rolle in der Evolution. Ich habe zahlreiche Rezensionen im Netz gelesen und viele haben gute Kommentare, aber die, die ich am meisten sehen wollte, war, dass von renommierten Wissenschaftsautor und Evolutionsbiologe Richard Dawkins. Im Gegensatz zu den meisten von Fachleuten, die in Zeitschriften nur für diejenigen mit Zugang zu einer Universität zur Verfügung stehen, ist es leicht im Netz verfügbar, obwohlanscheinend, entschied er sich, es nicht in einer Zeitschrift zu veröffentlichen, da es angemessen abscheulich ist. Leider findet man eine vernichtende Ablehnung des Buches und den acerbic Kommentar über einen wissenschaftlichen Kollegen, den ich je von Dawkins gesehen habe -- über alles in seinem vielen Austausch mit dem verstorbenen und unbeklagten Demagogen und Pseudowissenschaftler Stephan Jay Gould. Obwohl Gould für seine persönlichen Angriffe auf seinen Harvard-Kollegen Wilson berüchtigt war, stellt Dawkins fest, dass ein Großteil von "Conquest" einen unbequem an Goulds häufige Verfehlungen in "bland, unfocussed ecumenicalis" erinnert. Dasselbe gilt mehr oder weniger für Wilsons populäres Schreiben, einschließlich seines jüngsten Buches "The Meaning of Human Existence" – eine weitere schamlose Eigenwerbung seiner diskreditierten Ideen zu Inklusiver Fitness (IF). Dawkins weist darauf hin, dass das berüchtigte 2010-Papier von Nowak, Tarnita und Wilson in Nature von über 140 Biologen, die einen Brief unterzeichnet haben, fast überall abgelehnt wurde und dass es in Wilsons Buch kein Wort darüber gibt. Auch in den folgenden 4 Jahren mit Artikeln, Vorträgen und mehreren Büchern haben sie dies nicht korrigiert. Es gibt keine andere Wahl, als Dawkins trenchant Kommentar zuzustimmen: "Für Wilson nicht zu zugeben, dass er für sich selbst gegen die große Mehrheit seiner professionellen Kollegen spricht - es schmerzt mich, dies von einem lebenslangen Helden zu sagen -- ein Akt mutwilligen Arroganz." Angesichts von Nowaks späterem Verhalten muss man ihn auch einbeziehen. Ich habe das Gefühl, dass einer der fassungslosen Menschen, die man im Fernsehen sieht, interviewt wird, nachdem der nette Mann von nebenan, der seit 30 Jahren alle Kinder babysitten, als Serienmörder entlarvt wird. Dawkins weist auch darauf hin (wie er und andere seit vielen Jahren), dass inklusive Fitness mit dem Neo-Darwinismus (d.h. logischerweise folgt) entsteht und nicht abgelehnt werden kann, ohne die Evolution selbst abzulehnen. Wilson erinnert uns erneut an Gould, der Kreationisten von der einen Seite seines Mundes anprangerte, während er ihnen Trost spendete, indem er endlosen ultraliberalen marxistisch gefärbten Kauderwelsch über Spandrels, unterbrochenes Gleichgewicht und Evolutionspsychologie von der anderen ausspeist. Die Unbestimmtheit und mathematische Opazität (für die meisten von uns) der Mathematik der Gruppen- oder Mehrebenenauswahl ist genau das, was die Sanftmütigen ihnen ermöglichen wollen, dem rationalen Denken in ihren endlosen antiwissenschaftlichen Gerüchten und (in der Wissenschaft) postmodernen Wortsalate zu entkommen. Schlimmer noch, Wilsons "Eroberung" ist ein schlecht durchdachtes und schlampig geschriebenes Durcheinander voller Nonsequiturs, vager Streifzüge, Verwirrungen und Inkohärenz. Eine gute Bewertung, die einige davon im Detail ist, dass von Absolvent Gerry Carter, die Sie im Netz finden können. Wilson hat auch nichts mit unserem gegenwärtigen Verständnis der Evolutionspsychologie (EP) zu tun (siehe z.B. die letzten 300 Seiten von Pinkers 'The Better Angels of our Nature'). Wenn Sie eine seriöse Buchlänge Bericht über die soziale Evolution und einige relevante EP von einem Experten wollen, siehe 'Principles of Social Evolution' von Andrew F.G. Bourke, oder ein nicht ganz so ernster und zugegebenermaßen fehlerhafter und irrender Bericht, aber ein Muss,das Robert Trivers dennoch lesen muss—'The Folly of Fools: The Logic of Deceit and Self-Deception in Human Life' und ältere, aber immer noch aktuelle und durchdringende Werke wie 'The Evolutionof Cooperation':Revised Edition by Robert Axelrod and 'The Biology ofMoral Systems' von Richard Alexander. (shrink)

Grounded in semiosis present throughout the living world, symbolism and the process of symbolization can be studied for how both evolve over time and space. Symbolism in human evolution underlies behavior, cognition, communication, language, social group formation, cultural worldviews, and the development of artifactual, artistic, and technological innovations. Human symbolism is not reducible to individual acts of creativity. Instead, symbolization is grounded in intersubjective and sociocultural group actions and practices that extend into material, conceptual, and virtual symbols and (...) symbol systems expressive of we-intentionality. Most of all, human symbolism evolves, and it does so at the community level. Symbols are neither static nor uniform but dynamic and chimeric in space and time. Material, conceptual, and virtual symbolic evolution builds upon reticulate interactions between symbols and symbol users. These reticulate interactions underlie the learning, combination, blending, revision, rejection, expansion, innovation, enactment, and (re)interpretation of symbolic elements into spatiotemporal symbolic constructs. This chapter introduces the reader to evolutionary approaches to the study of human symbolic behavior as they are formulated in behavioral, neurocognitive, sociocultural, communicative, linguistic, and technological research fields, and introduces a 7E cognitive approach that recognizes cognition as embodied, embedded, enacted, extended, and as evolving extra-genetically by ensembles of individuals. (shrink)

Does the Big History of life on Earth disclose a trajectory that has been driven by selection? If so, will the trajectory continue to apply into the future? This paper argues that such a trajectory exists, and examines some of its key implications. The most important consequence is that humanity can use the trajectory to guide how it evolves and adapts into the future. This is because the trajectory identifies a sequence of adaptations that will be favoured by selection. If (...) humanity intentionally evolves its social systems and psychological capacities so that they follow the trajectory, humanity can avoid negative selection and instead survive and thrive indefinitely into the future. This would enable humanity to make a positive contribution to the future evolution of life in the universe. But it turns out that immediate selection will not drive the evolution of life on Earth further along this trajectory. Instead, intentional action by humanity is necessary. It is as if the evolution of life on any planet is a developmental process that has a very unusual characteristic: evolution will continue to develop successfully beyond a certain point only if it produces a sentient organism that: (i) awakens to the possibility it is embedded in a developing process; (ii) realizes that this developing process will continue successfully only if it chooses to intentionally drive the process forward; and (iii) commits to doing whatever is necessary to achieve this. On this planet, humanity is that sentient organism. The existence of such a key evolutionary role for humanity is capable of providing humanity with meaning and purpose in a larger scheme of things. For individuals who commit to driving the process forward, the nature of the trajectory has immediate consequences for what they should do with their lives, here and now. (shrink)