“Cultural evolution is about overcoming human nature. Or rather, it is about encouraging certain aspects of human nature and suppressing other aspects of human nature. Without civilization, humans tend to organize into small, slightly polygynous groups that fight each other over women and resources. Civilizations evolved because they could form bigger and more efficient armies than small-scale societies. And then civilizations sparred against each other, with the most militarily efficient of them as winners.”
-Tove K, “Society has defeated the family.” Wood From Eden. April 9, 2024
In response, Arnold Kling states:
“I say that humans play social games at three levels: individual, group (below the Dunbar number of about 150), and society (above the Dunbar number). The group requires loyalty, even if it is against the interest of the individual. Society requires obedience to laws and norms, even if it goes against group loyalty.”
-Arnold Kling, “Links to Consider, 4/12“. In My Tribe. April 12, 2024.
Culture is captured imagination. It’s a compendium of ways to be human. I’d argue that cultural evolution is partly a search of novelty, finding new ways of being human. It is also selecting among the different ways to find one that fits our environment, our temperament, or some other quality.
But, the idea that it comes down to the sex drive, resources and control – that what it means to be human is driven by animal instincts is anathema. If anything, being human means to know and to choose. Civilization is supposed to pull people above their instincts, and doing so, doesn’t make people less human.
Arnold Kling’s point isn’t fine grained enough. While it is convenient to cut by group size, social games happen in every human relationship. The status games of spouses are different than those between parent and child, siblings, extended families, communities and so forth. Dynamics, while effected by size, are not determined by it. So, using size as a classification misses the mark.
We need better models of thinking about status, relationships, society and civilizations.
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