Evolvability, Culture and the Primate Social Brain

Kerstin Dautenhahn

Adaptive Systems Research Group
Faculty of Engineering & Information Sciences
University of Hertfordshire
Hatfield, Herts AL10 9AB, United Kingdom
K.Dautenhahn@herts.ac.uk
http://homepages.feis.herts.ac.uk/~comqkd

Abstract:

This article addresses the evolution of primate cultures. The primate social field and cognitive capacities necessary to deal with complex social dynamics are discussed. Possible prerequisites for cultural evolution in primate societies are suggested. It is shown that the concept of evolvability can also be applied outside the context of genetic evolution, i.e. the capacity for generating phenotypic variation is also valid in the realm of cultural evolution.