Contemporary Evolutionary Theories of Culture and the Study of Religion

AvRadek Kundt,Donald Wiebe

Häftad, Engelska, 2017

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Beskrivning

Radek Kundt compares the notion of evolution in cultural evolutionary theories with neo-Darwinian evolutionary theory to determine the value of the biological concept for studying culture. Contemporary Evolutionary Theories of Culture and the Study of Religion surveys the historical background of cultural evolution as used in the study of religion, pinpointing major objections to classical nineteenth-century theories. Radek Kundt argues that contemporary theories of cultural evolution do not repeat the same mistakes but that when they are evaluated in terms of fitting the core requirements of neo-Darwinian natural selection, it is clear that they are not legitimate extensions of neo-Darwinian theory. Rather, they are poor metaphors and misleading analogies which add little to conventional cause-and-effect historiographical work.This book also introduces an alternative evolutionary approach to the study of culture which does not claim that the principles of neo-Darwinian evolution should be applicable outside the biological domain. Radek Kundt shows that this alternative evolutionary approach nevertheless provides a deeply enriching line of enquiry that incorporates both biological evolutionary history as shaping cultural change and culture as a force acting on the gene.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2017-05-18
Mått:154 x 232 x 14 mm
Vikt:300 g
Format:Häftad
Språk:Engelska
Serie:Scientific Studies of Religion: Inquiry and Explanation
Antal sidor:192
Förlag:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
ISBN:9781350037076

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Mer om författaren

Radek Kundt is Assistant Professor in the Department for the Study of Religions, Masaryk University, Czech Republic, where he also acts as Director of LEVYNA – Laboratory for the Experimental Research of Religion.

Recensioner i media

In this erudite work Radek Kundt expertly guides us through the thickets of evolutionary theory as this is applied to cultural forms in general and religious behavior in particular. His critical analyses are accurate and compelling, his descriptions of the various approaches instructive, and his suggestions productive. We are all in his debt.

Innehållsförteckning

PrefaceIntroductionPart 1: Classical Cultural Evolutionism1. Classical Cultural Evolutionism and the Origins of Religious Studies2. Critique of Classical Cultural EvolutionismPart 2: Contemporary Cultural Evolutionism3. Group Selection AccountsGroup Selection Accounts in Religious StudiesCritical analysis of group selection accounts4. Dual Inheritance AccountsDual inheritance accounts in Religious StudiesCritical analysis of dual inheritance accounts5. Memetic AccountsMemetic accounts in Religious StudiesCritical analysis of memetic accountsPart 3: Evolution Without Cultural Evolution6. The Evolutionary Study of Culture Without Cultural Evolution7. An Evolution-Without-Cultural-Evolution Approach in Religious StudiesConclusionBibliographyIndex