Social change with respect to culture and original nature

Abstract

The evolution of culture is not directly caused by biological evolution. Rather, culture evolves through selective accumulation, whereby new inventions and discoveries are added to the existing stock of knowledge, while some older forms are discarded. The size of the existing material culture is a significant factor in determining the frequency and rapidity of new inventions. This process of cultural growth is more akin to compound interest than to linear progression; cultural evolution occurs in jumps, with periods of rapid change punctuated by periods of relative stability. A variety of factors can hinder cultural change, including the difficulty of inventing and diffusing new ideas, vested interests, the power of tradition, habit, social pressure, and the tendency to forget the unpleasant. These obstacles can lead to cultural lag, where the adaptive culture, which is adjusted to the material conditions of life, lags behind the changes in the material culture itself. The rapid changes in material culture in the modern world, driven by inventions and discoveries, have created numerous social problems that arise from the mismatch between the adaptive culture and the material conditions of life. – AI-generated abstract