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Constructivism and selection: two opposed theories of social evolution

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Strukturen des Denkens

Part of the book series: Neue Bibliothek der Sozialwissenschaften ((NBDS))

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Abstract

This paper examines why natural selection is incapable of explaining social evolution, which instead requires a constructivist model. Natural selection reduces sociocultural systems to populations of traits, requires variation and selection to have distinct origins, and treats adaptation as the main explanatory principle. Constructivism, however, denies these assumptions as inappropriate to sociocultural systems. Here, variation and selection are linked together, and development occurs through an accumulation of various institutions. Because competition may often be low, these may be adaptively mediocre but, especially in combination, may still be the basis of further evolution. Necessary conditions for development include social size, sedentism, differentiated groups, and political centralisation. Social traditions, however, have core principles which may inhibit or facilitate evolutionary development.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tetbury, UK

    C.R. Hallpike

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  1. C.R. Hallpike
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Correspondence to C.R. Hallpike .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

    Günter Dux

  2. Universität Witten/Herdecke, Witten, Germany

    Jörn Rüsen

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Hallpike, C. (2014). Constructivism and selection: two opposed theories of social evolution. In: Dux, G., Rüsen, J. (eds) Strukturen des Denkens. Neue Bibliothek der Sozialwissenschaften. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-06255-2_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-06255-2_10

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  • Publisher Name: Springer VS, Wiesbaden

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-658-06254-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-658-06255-2

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