Cultural evolution, the Baldwin effect, and social norms

Abstract

Cultural evolution, the Baldwin effect, and social norms Jean Lachapelle12 , Luc Faucher13 and Pierre Poirier13 (12) Department of Humanities and Liberal Arts, Champlain Regional College, Université du Québec á Montréal, Québec, Canada (13) Université du Québec á Montréal, Québec, Canada Abstract The goal of this paper is to analyze the role of the Baldwin effect in cultural evolution and to propose that it played a fundamental role in the evolution of social norms. Drawing on a recent interpretation of the Baldwin effect proposed by Godfrey-Smith (2003), it is argued that the Baldwin effect should be construed in terms of niche construction. The paper appeals to the works of Deacon (1997, 2003) to illustrate the process of niche construction, and then concludes by applying a Baldwinian process of niche construction to the case of social norms. Jean LachapelleEmail: jlachape@globetrotter.net