Boudry, Maarten
(2018)
Replicate After Reading. On the extraction and evocation of cultural information.
[Preprint]
Abstract
Is replication in the cultural domain ubiquitous, rare, or non-existent? And how does this compare to that paradigmatic case of replication, the copying of DNA in living cells? Theorists of cultural evolution are divided on these issues. The most important objection to the replication model has been leveled by Dan Sperber and his colleagues. Cultural transmission, they argue, is almost always reconstructive and transformative, while strict ‘replication’ can be seen as a rare limiting case at most. By means of some thought experiments and intuition pumps, I clear up some confusion about what qualifies as ‘replication’. I propose a distinction between evocation and extraction of cultural information, and apply these concepts at different levels of resolution. I argue that we should stick to a purely informational definition of replication, and resist a more material conception. Even after taking Sperber’s valuable and important points on board, the notion of cultural replication still remains valid and useful. This is fortunate, because we need it for certain explanatory projects (i.e. understanding cumulative cultural adaptations).
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