Re: A question of timing

whitesickle@xxxxxxx wrote:

> Darwinian evolution in "general" is an extremely long and gradual and
> incremental process which doesn't occur in a generation's lifetime or
> innumerable generations. The changes are imperceptible. It's only
> really been through molecular genetics we've recently been able to draw
> some rough but good speculations and conclusions.

Hi Michael,

In your view is a long and gradual process a necessary property of
Darwinian evolution? Or is it just that Darwinian evolution happens to
be a long and gradual process in the biological world?

What I'm wishing to understand is whether the principles of Darwinian
evolution (variation, inheritance, and selection) can be applied to
human culture and institutions. Gould once argued that biological
evolution is a bad analogue for cultural change. One of his three reason
is that "cultural evolution can be faster by orders of magnitude than
biological change at it maximal Darwinian rate--and questions of timing
are of the essence in evolutionary arguments." But he doesn't elaborate
on this point.

So I am wondering what it is about Darwinian evolution that _requires_ a
long and gradual process.

Michael Nuwer
nuwermj at potsdam dot edu


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