How Culture Made Us Uniquely Human

This article argues that understanding human uniqueness requires recognizing that we are a cultural species whose evolution has been driven by the interaction among genes and culture for over a million years. Here, I review the basic argument, incorporate recent findings, and highlight ongoing effor...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Henrich, Joseph 1968- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Open Library of Humanities$s2024- 2023
In: Zygon
Year: 2023, Volume: 58, Issue: 2, Pages: 405-424
Further subjects:B Cultural Evolution
B Human Evolution
B human uniqueness
B Social norms
B culture-gene coevolution
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Summary:This article argues that understanding human uniqueness requires recognizing that we are a cultural species whose evolution has been driven by the interaction among genes and culture for over a million years. Here, I review the basic argument, incorporate recent findings, and highlight ongoing efforts to apply this approach to more deeply understand both the universal aspects of our cognition as well as the variation across societies. This article will cover (1) the origins and evolution of our capacities for culture, (2) examples of specialized mental abilities such as those related to mechanical causality, prestige, and cooperation, and (3) recent efforts to apprehend our capacities for abstraction. I close by discussing common canards that generate confusion in mapping what makes us human.
ISSN:1467-9744
Contains:Enthalten in: Zygon
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/zygo.12894