#412 Agner Fog: Cultural Evolution, Memetics, Politics and the Media
RECORDED ON OCTOBER 23rd 2020.
Dr. Agner Fog is associate professor of computer science at Technical University of Denmark. Dr. Fog does research in Evolutionary Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology, Social systems and Computer Science. His current project is ‘Theory of cultural change based on evolutionary psychology, evolutionary biology, and cultural evolution.’ He’s the author of “Warlike and Peaceful Societies: The Interaction of Genes and Culture”, and “Cultural Selection”.
In this episode, we talk about cultural evolution. We start by comparing cultural evolution to biological evolution, and we then discuss memetics extensively. We talk about how science works from a cultural evolutionary perspective, the differences between genes and memes, and types of selection that cannot be expressed as memes. We get into media, social media, and fake news; and politics, and the power of money. We ask if cultural evolution is intelligent, how we can explain differing levels of conflict between societies, and how the environment influences social organization. We also go through the cultural evolution of different kinds of religion (animism, polytheism, and monotheism), and we ask if cultural evolution moves linearly, and if we still have empires.
Time Links:
Comparing cultural evolution with biological evolution
Memetics, and its applications
How science works
Differences between genes and memes
Selection that cannot be expressed as memes
Media, social media, fake news
The power of money
Is cultural evolution intelligent?
Explaining different levels of conflict between societies
How the environment influences social organization
Animism, polytheism, and monotheism
Does cultural evolution move in a particular direction?
Do we still have empires?
Final thoughts on the comparison between cultural and biological evolution
Follow Dr. Fog’s work!
Follow Dr. Fog’s work:
Faculty page: https://bit.ly/3jfvXlK
Personal website: https://www.agner.org/
https://www.regality.info/
ResearchGate profile: https://bit.ly/2WvdzLO
Amazon page: https://amzn.to/2Wxgjse
Cultural Selection: https://bit.ly/3jlprZp