a consistent relationship with how many offspring individuals have that
survive and reproduce then the length of the beak will be shaped by natural
selection in that species. If the correlation does not exist (in our example, the
length of the beak does not influence lifetime reproductive success), we speak
ofneutral selection. If the state of the trait is not heritable, we cannot speak of
evolution.
Sexual selectionis a primary example of reproductive success (rather than
the well-being of the organism in any sense) being the criterion of natural
selection. While some scholars treat sexual selection as a special case of natural
selection (Clutton-Brock, 2004), others (following Darwin) consider it a
different type of evolutionary process (Safran et al., 2013). In fact, sexual
selection improves mating success and partner choice at the cost of other
aspects of reproductive success, such as adult survival (Stearns & Hoekstra,
2005, pp. 249–51). A trait variant that helps the organism to produce more
offspring with partners of better quality, will spread as long as its possible
negative effects on other aspects of reproductive success (such as preventing
the organism from reaching reproductive age or raising the offspring) do not
outweigh the benefits. The sex that is available for mating in fewer numbers
will be thelimiting sex(Stearns & Hoekstra, 2005, p. 248).
In biological evolution, traits are inherited through genes: traits of an
individual will show up in the individual’s offspring because genes that caused
the trait develop in the parents will also cause it to develop in the offspring.
Can we extend this insight to cultural traits? Dawkins famously suggested that
cultural traits are inherited via so-calledmemes, which are small pieces of
cultural information that can be passed on independently from each other
(Dawkins, 2006, pp. 192–4). Examples of memes are“tunes, ideas, catch-
phrases, clothes fashions, ways of making pots or of building arches”
(Dawkins, 2006, p. 192). The concept of the meme has been criticized on
different accounts (cf. Kundt, 2015), such as the practical problem of isolating
memes (is Buddhism a meme?), their material implementation (what do
memes consist of?), and thefidelity of their transmission. Addressing the
latter problem, Dan Sperber (1996, 2000) argued that pieces of culture are
not copied with high enoughfidelity so that something like natural selection
could act on them; the stability of cultural traits is due to psychological biases
rather than to the faithfulness of copying. According to Sperber, among
the range of possible forms a cultural bit can take there are optimal
forms dictated by psychological factors, which he calls“attractor positions.”^2
(^2) The concept of attractors is borrowed from system theory: some cultural bits occupy
“attractor positions”in the space of possible combinations of traits. Thus“attraction”in
Sperber’s theory does not mean that peoplefind some cultural forms“attractive”(as some
popular interpretations of the theory suggest), although this can be the consequence of some
cultural concept or behavior occupying an attractor position. The deeper analysis of the concept
of attractors is beyond the scope of this chapter.
26 Cognitive Science and the New Testament