Социобиология человека. Эволюция без генов. Социальная (культурная) эволюция

This experience can not be transferred to the next generation by genes, as morphological properties are transmitted. Their own experience, everyone must assimilate himself and the fate of the individual largely depends on the success of this assimilation. The process of remembering in the brain is not a process of changing its structure, it is a change in its functions, i.e. functional transformations.

The book developed and proposed a model of the mechanism of non-genetic inheritance of functional adaptations of the brain, which manifest themselves in human behavior as a change in its mentality.

This mechanism is made up of interactive brain programs called MEMs, that can replicate. This applies to all living beings with the brain. Transfer of skills, knowledge in populations is a well-known fact. However, replication of brain programs is possible only in individuals in the same population. This transfer can be called horizontal. This MEMs as replicators differ from genes that transmit information to subsequent generations of the population, being replicators of the vertical type.

Man stands out from all the representatives of the order of primates in that he managed to create a system of non-genetic inheritance of the experience of previous generations. This actually allowed him to become the dominant species on the planet. The developed language of communication, socialization, sufficient intelligence and, finally, the creation of writing, these are the main factors that made possible the transfer of cultural inheritance (functional adaptations) in a non-genetic way.

The creation of writing should be regarded as the appearance of external memory, which helps to organize cultural inheritance in the human society. MEMs become full-fledged replicators that allow vertical replication. The acquired experience and knowledge can now be easily transferred to subsequent generations.

Traces of human activity throughout the historical period should be seen as a manifestation of its cultural evolution.

It is not right to talk about the evolution of culture in itself. Culture is the result of human activity, it is he who evolves in a non-genetic way, and therefore the evolution of his cultural manifestations in society is observed. All other primates who do not have a developed language of communication, especially ways of fixing functional adaptations of the brain with the help of writing, have stopped on the halfway point of cultural evolution.