Alex Mesoudi's Books

Cultural Evolution

How Darwinian Theory Can Explain Human Culture & Synthesize the Social Sciences

By: Alex Mesoudi

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Cultural Evolution

How Darwinian Theory Can Explain Human Culture & Synthesize the Social Sciences

By: Alex Mesoudi

Charles Darwin changed the course of scientific thinking by showing how evolution accounts for the stunning diversity and biological complexity of life on earth. Recently, there has also been increased interest in the social sciences in how Darwinian theory can explain human culture. Covering a wide range of topics, including fads, public policy, the spread of religion, and herd behavior in markets, Alex Mesoudi shows that human culture is itself an evolutionary process that exhibits the key Darwinian mechanisms of variation, competition, and inheritance. This cross-disciplinary volume focuses on the ways cultural phenomena can be studied scientifically—from theoretical modeling to lab experiments, archaeological fieldwork to ethnographic studies—and shows how apparently disparate methods can complement one another to the mutual benefit of the various social science disciplines. Along the way, the book reveals how new insights arise from looking at culture from an evolutionary angle. Cultural Evolution provides a thought-provoking argument that Darwinian evolutionary theory can both unify different branches of inquiry and enhance understanding of human behavior.

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Page Count

281

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0226520455

ISBN 13

9780226520452

Cultural Evolution

How Darwinian Theory Can Explain Human Culture & Synthesize the Social Sciences

By: Alex Mesoudi

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Cultural Evolution

How Darwinian Theory Can Explain Human Culture & Synthesize the Social Sciences

By: Alex Mesoudi

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N/A

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Solve jigsaw puzzle

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Page Count

281

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0226520455

ISBN 13

9780226520452

Individual-Based Models of Cultural Evolution

A Step-by-Step Guide Using R

By: Alberto Acerbi,Alex Mesoudi,Marco Smolla

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Individual-Based Models of Cultural Evolution

A Step-by-Step Guide Using R

By: Alberto Acerbi,Alex Mesoudi,Marco Smolla

Individual-Based Models of Cultural Evolution shows readers how to create individual-based models of cultural evolution using the programming language R. The field of cultural evolution has emerged in the last few decades as a thriving, interdisciplinary effort to understand cultural change and cultural diversity within an evolutionary framework and using evolutionary tools, concepts, and methods. Given its roots in evolutionary biology, much of cultural evolution is grounded in, or inspired by, formal models. Yet many researchers interested in cultural evolution come from backgrounds that lack training in formal modelling, such as psychology, anthropology or archaeology. This book addresses that gap. It provides example code in R for readers to run their own models, moving from very simple models of the basic processes of cultural evolution, such as biased transmission and cultural mutation, to more advanced topics such as the evolution of social learning, demographic effects, and social network analysis. Features of this book: Recreates existing models in the literature to show how these were created and to enable readers to have a better understanding of their significance and how to apply them to their own research questions Provides full R code to realize models and analyse and plot outputs, with line-by-line analysis Requires no previous knowledge of the field of cultural evolution, and only very basic programming knowledge This is an essential resource for researchers and students interested in cultural evolution, including disciplines such as psychology, anthropology, archaeology, and biology as well as sociology and digital humanities.

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Page Count

223

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Published Date

ISBN 10

1000602036

ISBN 13

9781000602036

Individual-Based Models of Cultural Evolution

A Step-By-Step Guide Using R

By: Alberto Acerbi,Alex Mesoudi,Marco Smolla

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Individual-Based Models of Cultural Evolution

A Step-By-Step Guide Using R

By: Alberto Acerbi,Alex Mesoudi,Marco Smolla

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Page Count

216

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1003282067

ISBN 13

9781003282068

Book's by Alex Mesoudi

Cultural Evolution

Cultural Evolution

Cultural Evolution

Cultural Evolution

Individual-Based Models of Cultural Evolution

Individual-Based Models of Cultural Evolution

Individual-Based Models of Cultural Evolution

Individual-Based Models of Cultural Evolution

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