Darwinism, Dogma, and Cultural Evolution

Neo-Darwinian philosophy postulates that random variation plus selection is sufficient to explain the emergence of order in the natural world.  Working from this premise, anthropologists explain vengeance, warfare, cannibalism, and religion on the basis of their survival value, while ignoring the actual historical origins of these human institutions.

Dr. Hallpike challenges the assumption that competition between different ways of thinking and acting necessarily selects for the most biologically fit, observing that it is often the mediocre alternative that survives.  He suggests that because human beings possess consciousness and free will, scientists should consider human selection, rather than natural selection, as the primary agent driving change in our technologies, institutions, practices, and values.

Dr. C. R. Hallpike is an anthropologist who began his career working in the field with the Konso of Ethiopia and Tauade tribes of Papua New Guinea.  He has written extensively on diverse topics, including cultural relativism, social evolution, primitive thought, the nature of religion, warfare, moral development, and the origins of modern science.