- Chapter
Chapter 14: Evolutionary Psychology and Culture
pp. 389-415- Add bookmark
- Cite
- Share
Summary
The study of culture is usually the preserve of social anthropologists, sociologists and cultural theorists who have developed sophisticated theories to describe and explain cultural phenomena. Recently, there has been much interest in an evolutionary approach to culture. In contrast to many earlier theories these evolutionary theories attempt to provide ultimate rather than proximate explanations of culture. One of the biggest ultimate questions about culture is why do we have culture at all? From this perspective, the phenomenon of culture is not something that ‘just happened’; there is good evidence that human culture needs a particular sort of brain in order to sustain it.
About the book
- Chapter DOI https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108673044.015
- Book DOI https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108673044
- Subjects Biological Anthropology and Primatology,Biological Psychology,Life Sciences,Psychology
- Format: Hardback
- Publication date: 05 August 2021
- ISBN: 9781108483155
- Format: Paperback
- Publication date: 05 August 2021
- ISBN: 9781108716468
- Format: Digital
- Publication date: 30 April 2021
- ISBN: 9781108673044
- Find out more details about this book
Access options
Review the options below to login to check your access.
Personal login
Log in with your Cambridge Higher Education account to check access.
Purchase options
If you believe you should have access to this content, please contact your institutional librarian or consult our FAQ page for further information about accessing our content.