The Evolution of Cultural Entities

by Michael L. Wheeler (Editor), John M. Ziman (Editor), Margaret A. Boden (Editor)

Ever since Darwin, scholars have noted that cultural entities such as languages, laws, firms and theories seem to "evolve" through sequences of variation, selection and replication, in many ways just like living organisms. These essays consider whether this comparison is "just a metaphor," or
whether modern evolutionary theory can help us to understand the dynamics of different cultural domains.

Hardcover

First published April 3, 2003