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Paul Smaldino: Why Use An Evolutionary Perspective To Study Culture?

Abstract Theodosius Dobzhansky famously wrote in 1973, "Nothing in biology makes sense except in light of evolution." Biology is, of course, the study of living things. Humans are living things. Therefore, to study humans is to engage in biology. Yet, despite the prominent of Darwinian theory in the study of non-human animals, there is still widespread resistance to an evolutionary mindset when studying humans. Much of this is understandable. In the 1970s, Darwinian theory had little to say about human behavior and culture. Contributions from "social Darwinism" were racist and misguided, while evolutionary psychology has largely failed to capture the richness of the human experience. I will discuss an expanded view of evolutionary systems, including gene-culture coevolution and modern theories of cultural evolution, that show us why an evolutionary perspective offers much to the study of human cognition, behavior, and culture. I will highlight some of my own work in this area, focusing on models of identity, social learning, and collective problem-solving. About the speaker Paul Smaldino is Professor of Cognitive and Information Sciences and faculty in the Quantitative and Systems Biology graduate group at the University of California, Merced, and External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute. His research is focused on social dynamics and cultural evolution, with emphases on cooperation, communication, social identity, and scientific institutions. His book, Modeling Social Behavior: Mathematical and Agent-Based Models of Social Dynamics and Cultural Evolution, was published in 2023. IMC Tuesday Seminar held September 23rd, 2025. Note: Talk is trimmed to ensure anonymity of informants.