In this blog post, we will look at how the cognitive genes and memes unique to humans interacted to lead to the formation and development of civilization from an evolutionary perspective.

 

Why should we interpret the origin of civilization from an evolutionary perspective?

Humanity has long explored the origins of their civilization and presented various compelling answers. Most of these answers have focused on humans as the main actors of civilization and how they have created civilization. However, no discipline has succeeded in providing a universal answer to the origin of all human civilizations around the world. In particular, the interpretive methods of sociology and political science, which developed in Western and East Asian civilizations, have limitations in explaining causal relationships that encompass all civilizations in the world. To overcome this limitation and find answers to how various human civilizations could have emerged globally and why only humans could achieve civilization, we must look at the common characteristics shared by all human beings and the unique characteristics that differentiate humans from animal societies. I find these characteristics in the biological characteristics of the human species and try to explain the causal relationship from an evolutionary perspective to the question, “How did only humans develop a global civilization?”

 

The expression of cognitive genes and the beginning of human civilization

Humans did not have superior mobility or evasive skills compared to other animals, and were physically weaker than other animals of the same size. In fact, early humans who lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle were only able to eat the leftovers of carnivores due to their physical weakness, and they were even robbed of their corpses by hyenas and vultures. Ultimately, humans were in a very disadvantageous situation for survival, to the point where they had to break bones to get to the marrow. However, humans had advanced cognitive genes that enabled them to express creativity, understanding, and thinking that surpassed those of other animals. These cognitive genes were a decisive factor in the formation of civilization. These cognitive genes enabled humans to utilize other species, inanimate objects, and even abstract concepts necessary for survival.
To name a few examples, humans were able to start a settled life by using the surrounding trees and stones to make clothes and dwellings. They developed agriculture and animal husbandry to raise livestock and manage seeds for increased productivity and a stable food supply. They also strengthened the unity of their group through abstract concepts such as animism. These activities are the form of human society that appeared at the beginning of civilization and are essential conditions for the creation of civilization. At this point, most human activities were focused on survival.

 

Civilization and Meme: The Emergent Set of Cognitive Genes

However, as civilization continued to develop, the human’s higher cognitive genes began to produce results that went beyond the scope of human survival. Cognitive abilities such as creativity were unleashed to infinite extent, which led humans to engage in activities such as ideologies and philosophies that were not directly related to survival. The manifestation of these cognitive genes gave birth to the meme, a cultural replicator, and drove the development of human civilization.
Some scholars argue that cognitive genes and memes interact and evolve together, but I have a different view. The claim that memes promote the development of cognitive genes is reminiscent of the type of argument from the absurd, and it is difficult to see memes promoting the evolution of cognitive genes because evolution is the result of accidental mutations and natural selection. Therefore, memes can be said to be a byproduct of the excessive expression of cognitive genes.
Although memes have been created, for memes to survive, they must be capable of being replicated, and this replication can be said to be learning. Of course, other animals also have the ability to learn, but humans have reached the point where they imitate each other’s behavior even if it is not related to survival. Humans, as hosts with an exceptional ability to replicate memes, provided an environment in which memes could emerge. Memes continuously evolved and mutated, creating new memes, and through this, civilization developed. Money is a prime example of such a meme. Although it is not directly related to human survival, it has played an important role in creating concepts such as capitalism and in forming human civilization.

 

Meme as the Subject of Civilization

Some may argue that meme is just a fragment of civilization, and it is unreasonable to explain the whole civilization as a meme. However, when analyzing the main components of civilization, meme is not a simple element but the subject of civilization. When interpreting complex events, identifying the beneficiaries facilitates analysis. So who are the beneficiaries of human civilization?
Most material and spiritual civilizations guarantee human survival. For example, behavior that seeks survival through cooperation in a situation of group conflict can be explained as an act to protect the group’s ideology, which is also an act that guarantees the survival of the meme. Furthermore, there are cases where humans commit acts that are unfavorable to survival, such as martyrdom or suicide. This is a choice that is unfavorable to human survival, but it can be found in the perspective of the Meme. For example, if someone decides to commit suicide in opposition to capitalism, the Meme of capitalism may hinder the replication of that individual, but the Meme’s influence on society still continues. As such, the Meme is sometimes effective in explaining behaviors that are not related to human survival.

 

To understand civilization, you must understand the Meme

The driving force behind the fact that humans were able to build a global civilization, unlike other animals, is that the cognitive gene gave birth to the Meme. Humans are the subjects that create and replicate the Meme, but at the same time, their lifestyles and behaviors are influenced by the Meme. Civilization is like an ecosystem made up of various Memes, and the development of civilization can be said to be the evolution of the Meme. To understand civilization, we must analyze the evolution and extinction of memes as we would an ecosystem. This allows us to approach the question “How will future civilizations change?” in a more objective and concise manner by asking “What choices will memes and genes undergo and evolve as they undergo mutations?” Analyzing memes is the most accurate way to interpret the origin of civilization.