Why Cultures Persist: Towards a Cultural Immunology

Humans congregate in groups defined by distinct cultural styles due to the existence of cultural immune systems that regulate internal and external flows of information, enhancing our ability to predict the mind and behavior of others and paving the way for a more stable sense of self.

Format: Hardback
Length: 450 pages
Publication date: 30 September 2023
Publisher: Aarhus University Press

Humans have a natural tendency to congregate in groups defined by distinct cultural styles. This phenomenon is explained by a simple yet ambitious hypothesis presented in this book. According to the author, the emergence and persistence of social groups are dependent upon the existence of cultural immune systems that regulate both internal and external flows of information. The author proposes a model of the human mind as a host of cognitive systems aimed to predict the world through probabilistic models. Based on this model, the author argues that as humans congregate in groups, we gradually align these models, forming distinct social and cognitive niches. This alignment enhances our ability to predict the mind and behavior of others, thereby easing in-group coordination. As shared cultural models stabilize internal cognitive processing, we become self-predictive, paving the way for the emergence of a more stable sense of self. Furthermore, prompted by our predictive minds, cultural models form more coherent cultural systems that regulate which new ideas are accepted and which are rejected. Identifying particular cultural immune systems, notably ritual, law, and education, the author argues that these actively align participants with the predominant cultural style of a social group and regulate interaction at different levels of social complexity.

Dimension: 240 x 170 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9788772196268