Cultural Selection

Name: Cultural Selection
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ISBN: 9780792355793

By: Agner Fog

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Hardcover Published: 28th February 1999
ISBN: 9780792355793
Number Of Pages: 320

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Provides an interdisciplinary theory that challenges traditional sociology by its superior ability to explain the irrational or unplanned aspects of culture, and it reveals that our society is not as rational as we would like to believe. The reader receives a comprehensive overview of cultural selection theory, including the history of the theory and the many different schools of thought, as well as an explanation of the nuts and bolts of cultural selection and the different selection mechanisms. Furthermore, the author introduces the new paradigm-breaking cultural r/k theory - a theory which reveals causal connections between religion, politics, ethics, art, and sexual behaviour - and which can explain such diverse phenomena as the fall of Rome, the advent of rock music in the late Soviet Union, and the anti-pornography movement in contemporary USA. The attraction of this theory lies in its impressive explanatory power and its usefulness for making predictions. This book maintains a down-to-earth theory with the main focus on the explanation of real world phenomena, including religion, politics, music, art, architecture, clothing fashion, sexual behavior, sport, and play. It thereby provides a foundation on which to base further research in many areas of human culture, including anthropology, archaeology, political and religious history, art, social psychology, sexology, peace research and futurology.

Introduction	p. 9
The History of Cultural Selection Theory	p. 13
Evolutionism	p. 13
Social darwinism	p. 22
Functionalism	p. 24
Neo-evolutionism	p. 25
Diffusionism	p. 30
Sociobiology	p. 33
Interaction between genetic and cultural selection	p. 36
Memetics	p. 41
Sociology and anthropology	p. 45
Synthesis of sociobiology and anthropology	p. 47
Social psychology	p. 49
Economic competition	p. 50
Universal selection theory	p. 52
Conclusion	p. 55
Fundamental Model for Cultural Selection	p. 59
The genetic basis of culture	p. 59
Cultural selection	p. 60
Unit of selection	p. 62
Innovation	p. 65
Reproduction	p. 67
Selection	p. 69
Selection of meme complexes	p. 73
Vicarious selection	p. 74
Barriers in evolution	p. 75
Differences between genetic and cultural selection	p. 78
Cultural selection in animals	p. 79
The applicability of cultural selection theory	p. 80
Further Development of the Model	p. 83
The concept of fitness	p. 83
Genetic selection models	p. 85
Genetic r- and K-selection	p. 88
Cultural selection models	p. 90
Cultural r- and k-selection	p. 91
Mechanisms in cultural r/k-selection	p. 94
Vicarious psychological mechanisms	p. 96
The paradox of revolution	p. 99
Typical characteristics of regal and kalyptic cultures	p. 101
Limitations to the theory	p. 103
Previously published related theories	p. 104
Conservativism versus innovativism	p. 108
Cultural Selection Throughout the Times	p. 110
The evolution of ever bigger political units	p. 110
The evolution of religions	p. 113
Animism	p. 115
Polytheism	p. 116
Monotheism	p. 119
Oriental religions	p. 124
Religions are created by cultural evolution	p. 127
Secularization	p. 129
Imperialism	p. 130
Modern society	p. 131
Migrations	p. 132
Economic competition	p. 134
Demography	p. 136
Social Organization Among Baboons	p. 139
Sociology of Deviance	p. 143
The fight over defining reality	p. 143
Defining reality in terms of science	p. 145
Myth making	p. 146
Witch-hunts and moral panics	p. 149
The role of the mass media	p. 153
The objects of witch-hunts	p. 154
Mass Media	p. 156
Advertising and sponsoring	p. 166
The competition for attention	p. 167
Sexual Behavior	p. 169
Psychological mechanisms	p. 174
Selection of discourses	p. 176
Social scripts	p. 177
Taboo and sacredness	p. 178
Art	p. 189
The function of art	p. 189
Styles and social stratification	p. 194
Visual art	p. 195
Music and singing	p. 200
Dance	p. 209
Architecture	p. 216
Clothing	p. 218
Other arts	p. 221
Play, Games and Sport	p. 222
Play	p. 222
Games	p. 227
Sport	p. 229
Comparison with other cultural phenomena	p. 232
Discussion and Conclusion	p. 235
Cultural r/k-selection	p. 236
Cultural transmission media	p. 239
The pleasure principle	p. 241
Are we slaves of the culture?	p. 242
Testability and sources of error	p. 244
Explanatory power	p. 249
The Future	p. 251
Security policy	p. 252
Population policy	p. 253
Immigration policy	p. 254
Economic policy	p. 255
Media policy	p. 256
Disadvantages of kalypticity	p. 257
Hazards by applying the r/k-theory	p. 259
Explanation of Words	p. 261
Literature	p. 271
Keyword Index	p. 308
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

ISBN: 9780792355793
ISBN-10: 0792355792
Audience: Professional
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Number Of Pages: 320
Published: 28th February 1999
Publisher: Springer
Country of Publication: NL
Dimensions (cm): 25.4 x 17.15 x 2.54
Weight (kg): 0.68