{"id":6481,"date":"2023-07-26T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-26T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=6481"},"modified":"2023-05-03T22:30:21","modified_gmt":"2023-05-03T22:30:21","slug":"looking-at-lesley-newson-and-peter-richersons-book-2021-a-story-of-us-part-4-of-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=6481","title":{"rendered":"Looking at Lesley Newson and Peter Richerson’s Book (2021) “A Story of Us” (Part 4 of 16)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

0021 The authors’ focus on actuality2<\/sub>, rather than potential1<\/sub>, is typical for modern sciences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is an alternative to the two-level interscope for gene-culture co-evolution.  The alternative has the same situation-level nested form, but a different content level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To start, genes2a<\/sub> are a content-level actuality2a<\/sub>, corresponding to DNA [codes for] brains2a<\/sub><\/em>.  Culture [informs] brains2b<\/sub><\/em> is a situation-level actuality2b<\/sub> that emerges from… um… the potential ‘situating content’1b<\/sub><\/em>.  But, does that situation-level potential1b<\/sub> virtually emerge from (and situate) the potential of brain function or plasticity1a<\/sub>?<\/em>  Or, does it1b<\/sub> virtually situate another potential, such as the potential of ‘whatever is happening at the time’1a<\/sub>?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

0023 Is there a hidden ingredient<\/em> to gene-culture co-evolution?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That hidden ingredient<\/em> is expressed on the content level of the following two-level interscope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Figure 06<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

0024 Now, this hidden ingredient<\/em> must be very important for the “sauce” of the story that Newson and Richerson tells<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is as if culture informs brains2b<\/sub><\/em> allows the creature to fill in the blanks on the content level<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

0025 But, I suppose before our lineage has big brains, then that content level is not culture oriented.  Something much more… um… primal<\/em> tells the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I go back to a common ancestor between the chimpanzees and our lineage,<\/em> say seven million years ago, then that obvious actuality2a<\/sub><\/em> involves a behavior common to all mammals<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter two begins with an interlude, a story about mother-infant “culture”.  When the infant drinks its mother’s milk2a<\/sub>, the mother-infant interaction stimulates hormonal responses2b<\/sub>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

0026 Here is the hidden ingredient two-level interscope for mother-infant interactions.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Figure 07<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

0027 If the situation-level normal context<\/em> is sociality3b<\/sub>, then the potential of situating content1b<\/sub><\/em> could be called, by psychologists, the possibility of ‘an mother-infant bond’1b<\/sub><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Figure 08<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

0028 Mother-infant bonding1b<\/sub> situates the physical act of the infant suckling2a<\/sub>, which is innate for mammals.  So, the content level for the hidden ingredient dovetails into the content level for gene-culture co-evolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Figure 09<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

0029 The normal context of suckling3a<\/sub><\/em> can be viewed as a facet of body development3a<\/sub><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The infant’s behavior2a<\/sub> must be genetic2a<\/sub>, since an infant is too young to culturally figure out anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The innate physical act1a<\/sub> has a function1a<\/sub>, so plasticity offers no advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

0030 What does this imply?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The secret message of the hidden ingredient of the “gene” side of gene-culture co-evolution<\/em> is that our brains have the potential to construct the hidden ingredient.<\/em>  A content level2a<\/sub> obviously must be going on when content is situated1b<\/sub> in the normal context of sociality3b<\/sub>.  So, the potential of function or plasticity1a<\/sub><\/em> corresponds to the (innately gifted) ability of the individual to isolate the potential of ‘whatever is happening at the time’1a<\/sub>, as well as the normal context3a<\/sub> and the actuality2a<\/sub> of the hidden ingredient<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

0031 How complicated is that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a huge advantage to Newson and Richerson’s theoretical sleight of hand.  The situation-level actuality2b<\/sub> arising from mother-infant bonding1b<\/sub><\/em> has the same hylomorphic structure (of two contiguous real elements) as culture [informs] brains2b<\/sub><\/em>.  Indeed, one may say that these two dyads are the polar ends of a continuum of behaviors<\/em> that rely on pure function<\/em> (for stimulation) at one end and pure plasticity<\/em> (for information) on the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Figure 10<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

0032 Finally, the authors complete their picture by claiming that the emotional attachment1b<\/sub> increases reproductive success1c<\/sub>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The potential for ‘reproductive success’1c<\/sub><\/em> is necessary, but not sufficient, to explain the actuality of an adaptation2c<\/sub><\/em>.  A niche1<\/sub> is required to honestly account for any particular adaptation2<\/sub> in the normal context of natural selection3<\/sub>.  However, the authors are not aware that humans have a niche or that the human niche<\/em> may have anything to do with the hidden ingredient<\/em> composing a content-level nested form that does not appear in their theoretical framework<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

0033 Here is a picture of the authors’ big picture, applied to the last common ancestor of the chimpanzee and human<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Figure 11<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

0021 The authors’ focus on actuality2, rather than potential1, is typical for modern sciences. There is an alternative to the two-level interscope for gene-culture co-evolution.  The alternative has the same situation-level nested form, but a different content level. To start, genes2a are a content-level actuality2a, corresponding to DNA [codes for] brains2a.  Culture [informs] brains2b is a situation-level actuality2b that emerges from… […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-evolution-of-talk","category-the-human-niche"],"yoast_head":"\nLooking at Lesley Newson and Peter Richerson's Book (2021) "A Story of Us" (Part 4 of 16) - An Archaeology of the Fall<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An examination of a recent book on human evolution.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=6481\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Looking at Lesley Newson and Peter Richerson's Book (2021) "A Story of Us" (Part 4 of 16) - 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