Techno-Cultural Evolution: Cycles of Creation and Conflict

Description

Evolution has long shaped human behavior. Yet just recently have we learned that evolution based on natural selection is not the continuous process Darwin assumed. It is instead a two-part process of change and stability called punctuated equilibrium, with natural selection operating mainly on the frontiers of change. Taking account of biology's latest understanding of evolution, it becomes clear that culture evolves by a similar process. This is important because over the past 30,000 years most human evolution and the behavioral changes that go with it have occurred in our cultures-not in our genes. Knowing the process by which culture evolves clarifies the origin of many of our current problems, both within and between cultures. The author contends that new technology drives cultural evolution much as mutations change our DNA. The problem is that technology is now coming at us so fast that it is inducing"circuit overload" in cultures all over the world, leading to conflict. Techno-Cultural Evolution, which builds on the insights of such bestsellers as Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse, explains how this process works-and what it means for all of us.

William McDonald Wallace, Ph.D., retired from the Boeing Company in 1992 as chief economist of commercial airplanes. He was dean of the School of Business at St. Martin's University in Lacey, Washington, from 1998 until 2006. He lives on a small tree farm near the Olympic National Park.

"An interesting and unorthodox approach to one of the great scientific mysteries of today--how culture evolves." -- Paul R. Ehrlich "Provides a general tour of human history to outline a theory that aims to answer the question of why and how technology evolves. . . . Recommended." "W. M. Wallace's book on the subject of cultural evolution and technology certainly makes for good reading. This new entry to the relatively scarce collection of texts on technological evolution is elegantly edited and well-written, and contributes much original food for thought. . . . In [its] final chapters, the conflict between Western and Eastern cultures and the clash between Christian and Islamic fundamentalism is very intelligently analyzed. The strength of this book relies undoubtedly on these final chapters, and I personally recommend it to any intelligent person who is concerened about humanity's future and interested in being acquainted on how the world presently operates." "From the first tool to the present day, Wallace's "Techno-Cultural Evolution" reveals the inner workings of the systems that make and break us. It is a book for the times--carefully reasoned, deep, and immediately relevant to the decisions facing us today. His 'FROCA' theory has the elegance that marks an enduring hypothesis."--Tim Flannery, director of the South Australian Museum and author of "The Eternal Frontier: An Ecological History of North America and Its Peoples"--Tim Flannery -From the first tool to the present day, Wallace's Techno-Cultural Evolution reveals the inner workings of the systems that make and break us. It is a book for the times--carefully reasoned, deep, and immediately relevant to the decisions facing us today. His 'FROCA' theory has the elegance that marks an enduring hypothesis.---Tim Flannery, director of the South Australian Museum and author of The Eternal Frontier: An Ecological History of North America and Its Peoples--Tim Flannery -An interesting and unorthodox approach to one of the great scientific mysteries of today--how culture evolves. Genetic evolution is a well-verified and quite complete theory, but there is no comprehensive view on how human non-genetic information changes through time. Techno-Cultural Evolution takes a novel step in that direction.---Paul R. Ehrlich, Bing Professor of Population Studies, Stanford University, and author of Human Nature: Genes, Cultures, and the Human Prospect--Paul R. Ehrlich "From the first tool to the present day, Wallace s Techno-Cultural Evolution reveals the inner workings of the systems that make and break us. It is a book for the times--carefully reasoned, deep, and immediately relevant to the decisions facing us today. His FROCA theory has the elegance that marks an enduring hypothesis." Tim Flannery, director of the South Australian Museum and author of The Eternal Frontier: An Ecological History of North America and Its Peoples--Tim Flannery" "An interesting and unorthodox approach to one of the great scientific mysteries of today--how culture evolves. Genetic evolution is a well-verified and quite complete theory, but there is no comprehensive view on how human non-genetic information changes through time. Techno-Cultural Evolution takes a novel step in that direction." Paul R. Ehrlich, Bing Professor of Population Studies, Stanford University, and author of Human Nature: Genes, Cultures, and the Human Prospect--Paul R. Ehrlich"