Humans have shaped and developed civilization through cognitive genes, a biological trait that gives us the ability to think better than other animals, and through memes. Memes are cultural elements that replicate and evolve in human societies, creating concepts like capitalism and driving civilization forward. Through this, human civilization has evolved to develop various ideologies and philosophies that go beyond survival.
Why interpret the origins of civilization from an evolutionary perspective?
Humans have long explored the origins of their civilization and have come up with a number of compelling answers. Most of these answers have focused on humans as the agents of civilization and explained how humans have created civilizations. However, no discipline has succeeded in providing a universal answer to the origins of all human civilizations around the world. In particular, sociology and political science, which were developed in Western and East Asian civilizations, have been limited in their ability to explain causal relationships across all civilizations in the world. To overcome this limitation and find answers to how various human civilizations arose on Earth and why only humans were able to achieve civilization, we need to look at the common characteristics that humans share and the unique characteristics that distinguish us from animal societies. I will look for these traits in the biological characteristics of the human species to provide a causal explanation from an evolutionary perspective for the question, “How did only humans develop a global civilization?”
The Expression of Cognitive Genes and the Beginning of Human Civilization
Compared to other animals, humans did not have superior mobility or evasion skills, and were physically weak compared to other animals of the same size. In fact, as hunter-gatherers, early humans were so physically weak that they ate the remains of carnivores, and their carcasses were taken by hyenas, vultures, and others. Humans were at such a disadvantage in survival that they were forced to split bones to harvest the marrow. However, humans possessed advanced cognitive genes that allowed them to express creativity, understanding, and thinking skills that surpassed those of other animals. These cognitive genes were a decisive factor in the formation of civilization. These cognitive genes allowed humans to utilize other living species, inanimate objects, and even abstract concepts in order to survive.
To name a few examples, humans were able to start living in settlements by using the wood and stone around them to make clothing and shelter; they developed farming and pastoralism, which involved raising livestock and managing seeds to increase productivity and ensure a stable food supply; and they used abstract concepts like animism to bond with their groups. These activities are the earliest manifestations of human society and are essential conditions for the creation of civilization. At this point, human behavior was mostly focused on survival.
Civilizations and Memes: Cognitive Genes and the Aggregation of Invention
However, as the development of civilization continued, our higher cognitive genes began to produce results beyond the scope of human survival. Cognitive abilities such as creativity were unleashed, leading humans to engage in activities not directly related to survival, such as ideology and philosophy. The expression of these cognitive genes gave rise to cultural replicators, memes, which drove the development of human civilization.
While some scholars argue that cognitive genes and memes interacted and co-evolved, I disagree. The idea that memes promote the development of cognitive genes is a bit of a red herring, as evolution is the result of chance mutations and natural selection, so it is unlikely that memes promote the evolution of cognitive genes. Instead, memes are a byproduct of the overexpression of cognitive genes.
Once a meme is born, its survival requires a high probability of replication, which is learning. Of course, other animals have the ability to learn, but humans have reached the point where they imitate each other’s behavior even when it is not relevant to their survival. Humans are such a good host for replicating memes that we have provided an environment for them to emerge. Memes are constantly diverging, mutating, and creating new memes, which in turn drive civilization forward. Money is a prime example of such a meme, and while it is not directly related to human survival, it has played an important role in shaping human civilization by creating concepts like capitalism.
Memes as agents of civilization
Some may argue that memes are only a fragment of civilization, and that it’s a stretch to explain an entire civilization in terms of memes. However, if we analyze the main components of civilization, we can see that memes are not just an element, but an agent of civilization. When interpreting complex events, identifying the beneficiaries facilitates analysis. So, who are the beneficiaries of human civilization?
Most material and mental civilizations ensure human survival. For example, the behavior of cooperating to survive in situations of intergroup conflict can be explained as the defense of the group’s ideology, which in turn ensures the survival of the meme. Furthermore, there are cases in which humans engage in behavior that is unfavorable to their survival, such as martyrdom or suicide. These are choices that are unfavorable to human survival, but from the perspective of a meme, they can be meaningful. For example, if a person who fights against capitalism decides to commit suicide, the meme of capitalism may prevent that individual from reproducing, but the meme’s influence on society still persists. In this way, memes are sometimes valid to explain behaviors that have nothing to do with human survival.
To understand civilization, we need to understand memes
Humans, unlike other animals, have been able to build a global civilization because our cognitive genes have given rise to memes. Humans are the creators and replicators of memes, but at the same time, our lifestyles and behaviors are influenced by them. Civilization is like an ecosystem of various memes, and the development of civilization is the evolution of memes. To understand civilization, we need to analyze the evolution and decay of memes, just as we analyze ecosystems. In this way, the question, “How will civilization change in the future?” can be analyzed more objectively and concisely by approaching it as “How will memes and genes be selected, mutated, and evolve in the future?” Analyzing memes is the most accurate way to interpret the origins of civilization.
