Human self-selection as a mechanism of human societal evolution: A critique of the cultural selection argument

Natural selection is the main mechanism that drives the evolution of species, including human societies. Under natural selection, human species responds through genetic and cultural adaptations to internal and external selection pressures for survival and reproductive success. However, this theory is ineffective in explaining human societal evolution in the Holocene and a cultural selection argument has been made to remedy the theory. The present article provides a critique of the cultural selection argument and proposes an alternative conception that treats human self-selection as an emergent mechanism of human societal evolution characterized by a new type of selection pressure and a separate fitness criterion. Specifically, the evolution of human societies is divided into two major periods, each driven by a different mode of selection: natural selection acting on genes and cultures for survival and reproductive success prior to the Neolithic Revolution, and human self-selection acting on cultures - and potentially genes as well - for thrival and prosperous living after the Neolithic Revolution. The conditions for the transition from the first mode of selection to the second and the implications of this transition for social research are also discussed.

Automated summary

This article explores the roles of natural selection and cultural selection in human societal evolution, proposing human self-selection as a new mechanism for human societal evolution. The transition from survival and reproductive success driven by genes and cultures before the Neolithic Revolution to prosperous living guided by cultural and potentially genetic self-selection after the Neolithic Revolution is discussed as a major shift in human societal evolution.