Grand challenges for the study of cultural evolution

Abstract:

The founding members of the Cultural Evolution Society were surveyed to identify the major scientific questions and ‘grand challenges’ currently facing the study of cultural evolution. We present the results and discuss the implications for an emergent synthesis in the study of culture based on Darwinian principles. The scientific study of culture is currently undergoing a theoretical synthesis comparable to the ongoing synthesis of biological knowledge that began in the twentieth century. Critical to both syntheses is the application of Darwinian evolutionary concepts and methods1.