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Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations
Published on: February 3, 2023
A model for the evolutionary diversification of religions.
Michael Doebeli1, Iaroslav Ispolatov
1Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4. doebeli@zoology.ubc.ca
Journal of Theoretical Biology
|September 22, 2010
Summary
This study models cultural diversification using host-pathogen dynamics. It shows how negative frequency-dependent selection on religious ideas can lead to the emergence of distinct cultural traditions without geographical isolation.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary anthropology
- Theoretical epidemiology
- Cultural evolution
Background:
- Cultural diversification is a key aspect of human history.
- Understanding the mechanisms driving cultural divergence is crucial.
- Previous models often rely on geographical isolation, limiting their scope.
Purpose of the Study:
- To model the emergence of cultural diversification using principles from theoretical epidemiology.
- To investigate how selection on cultural ideas, specifically religious beliefs, can lead to distinct cultural traditions.
- To demonstrate that cultural diversification can occur without geographical isolation.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing host-pathogen dynamics models from theoretical epidemiology.
- Conceptualizing cultural ideas (religions) as colonizing agents in human hosts.
- Incorporating negative frequency-dependent selection, where belief loss increases with the prevalence of a cultural idea.
Main Results:
- The model demonstrates frequency-dependent selection on cultural content.
- This frequency dependence promotes the emergence of coexisting clusters of different cultural types.
- Distinct descendant cultures can arise from a single ancestral culture.
Conclusions:
- Cultural diversification can be explained through evolutionary processes acting on cultural ideas.
- Negative frequency-dependent selection is a significant driver of cultural divergence.
- Geographical isolation is not a prerequisite for the formation of distinct cultural traditions.
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