The Evolution of Civilization CCGL 9042

1. The Evolution of CivilizationCCGL 9042 Key teachers:Dr Stacey Cherny (Course Coordinator)Prof PC Sham Department of Psychiatry &Centre for Genomic Sciences 3 September 2014

2. Lecture 1 • Introduction to the teachers • Outline of the course • Explanation of the course title • What do we mean by evolution? • What do we mean by civilization? • What is progress? • How to we gain knowledge and understanding? • Scientific method • Brief human history • Methods of assessment • Topics in the course

3. CCGL9042 Global IssuesThe Evolution of Civilization

4. Key teachers • Stacey Cherny • Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry • BA in Psychology from University of Winnipeg • PhD in Behavior Genetics from University of Colorado, Boulder • Pak Sham • Chair Professor of Psychiatric Genomics • MB BCh (Oxford), MSc in Statistics (London), psychiatrist

5. Overall theme of the course • The theory of evolution is a useful framework for understand how humans went from simple hunter-gatherers to modern society, with massive increases in productivity and therefore quality of life • Two types of evolution are operating in humans, to varying degrees at different times: • Evolution of genes – how our biology has changed over time • Evolution of ideas – how we do things differently over time • The course will draw on evolutionary theory, anthropology, history, economics, and psychology in addressing these issues • Specialization and trade are what have driven human progress • How can our knowledge of human nature and past progress be used to address major societal challenges?

6. What is evolution? • Survival of the fittest through natural selection (Darwin) • There is natural genetic variation between but also within individual species and the likelihood of surviving and reproducing (being selected) is a function of the particular genes the individual has, since different genes are more suited to different environments

7. The Selfish Gene (Dawkins) • The Selfish Gene theory of evolution through natural selection explains how evolution works at the genetic level • All organisms (including humans) are designed and programmed by our DNA, which is composed of genes which code for proteins which build organisms • Natural selection effectively acts on the gene (or parts of the gene), rather than the individual

8. Properties of successful genes(genes which have lots of copies of themselves around) • Longevity – the organism containing the gene lives a long life and so become more numerous • Fecundity – the organism reproduces frequently, making more copies of the genes in contains • Copying fidelity – when passing on genes to the next generation, it makes accurate copies

9. How do we get evolution? Variation! • Copying errors – once in a while an error in copying is made. While most errors are harmful, if an error increases the chances of the organism reproducing, it gets copied and increases in frequency. • Recombination – humans and other higher organisms have two copies (alleles) of each gene; when they mate, their offspring receive a unique combination of genes, half from mother and half from father. This introduces variation, with some combinations better suited to the environment than others.

10. The Meme • An idea, which necessarily resides in the human brain • Just as genes replicate themselves, so do memes • A good, or at least compelling, idea will spread to other people who will in turn spread it further, through imitation • Memes can recombine, just like genes • Memes also mutate • Some mutated memes will replicate better than others, because they are more useful (or compelling) to people • Memes generally evolve much faster than genes Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene

11. The Meme • Big Bang Theory explains the meme (3:49): • http://youtu.be/onVxp40MisI

12. Successful memes • Longevity • The longer lived the meme, the more copies would be present • Fecundity • For scientific ideas, fecundity can be measured by Impact Factor • For products, number of copies sold • But popular memes can sometimes die off quickly, despite being replicated a huge number of times • Introduction of variation through mating of ideas • Copying fidelity • How accurately the meme is reproduced • Mutations, giving rise to new memes Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene

13. Competition among memes • While memes don’t have alleles, they do still have competitors • Humans have limited brain capacity and so can’t be exposed to, let alone infected by, infinite memes • Memes compete for our attention • However, humans as a whole have a near infinite capacity for memes and form a massive collective intelligence Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene

14. Civilization • Civilized societies are generally regarded as those which have • Government • A written language • A social or cultural center • A city • Trade • Money • A unique culture

15. What do we mean by civilization in this course? • The transition from a simple hunter-gatherer existence to our complex society, with all the benefits/risks • The focus of the course is on how humans increased their prosperity, or economic success, which allowed for all the structures of complex civilizations, and for the massive improvements in quality of life

16. What the course isn’t about • History of civilizations • The course will focus on the general theme of the evolution of civilization, through specialization and trade • Economic progress • Some cultures/civilizations will be mentioned for their significance in this process, but we will not look at a complete history • Civilization involves much more than economic progress, but it can be argued that other aspects of civilization could not be achieved without economic progress to allow for free time to concentrate on things other than survival

17. Why does economic improvement matter? • Improvement in quality of life • Health • Leisure time • Entertainment • Knowledge and understanding • Happiness • Security • Quality of natural environment • Increase in quantity of life • Lifespan

18. How has progress been achieved? • Progress required manipulation and control of the environment • Progress tends to be gradual and builds on and combines previous achievements • Progress is driven by ideas, which broadly speaking, form culture • Just as successful genes become more frequent in the gene pool, successful ideas spread in the pool of ideas • Specialization and trade

19. Progress • The book on which this course is based is The Rational Optimist, by Matt Ridley • Let’s hear him introduce this book • http://youtu.be/OLHh9E5ilZ4 (17 min) • And a longer talk about the book • http://youtu.be/9-zLK50w4Q0 (47 min)

20. Progress in longevity https://koshland-science-museum.org/sites/all/exhibits/exhib_infectious/public_health_02.jsp

21. http://alfin2101.blogspot.hk/2011/09/is-this-historical-reprieve-from.htmlhttp://alfin2101.blogspot.hk/2011/09/is-this-historical-reprieve-from.html

22. Increasing food production efficiency From The Rational Optimist

23. Declining rates of population growth From The Rational Optimist

24. Decline in pollution From The Rational Optimist

25. Projections for world GDP/capita From The Rational Optimist

26. Method of Inquiry • How do we find things out about about our subject area – evolution of civilization or prosperity?

27. How to find truth? • Ask the authorities? • Search the internet? • Survey the opinions of many people? • Discuss with friends to reach an agreement? • Vigorous debate between adversaries? The Dialectic Method Formulate the question Define the terms Propose different viewpoints (Thesis and Antithesis) Rational discourse on their merits and difficulties (appealing to logic rather than emotions) Arrive at a conclusion (Synthesis) Socrates Plato

28. The Method of Science • “Observation is the ultimate and final judge of the truth of an idea” • Experiments should be well-planned and carefully conducted to obtain valid observations • Ideas come from human imagination • Should be logically consistent • Should generate testable (observable) predictions • Predictions should be confirmed or refuted by experiments

29. The Uncertainty of Science • “All scientific knowledge is uncertain…. Because we have the doubt, we then propose looking in new directions for new ideas” • “This freedom of doubt is an important matter in the sciences…. I feel a responsibility to proclaim the value of this freedom and to teach that doubt is not to be feared, but that it is to be welcomed as the possibility of a new potential for human beings”

30. What science cannot answer • The question “Should I do this?” can be divided into two parts: • “If I do this what will happen?” This is susceptibility to scientific investigation • “Do I want this to happen?” This is ultimately to do with value judgment, which is highly subjective and personal.

31. Human History • Applying the scientific method to the evolution of civilization requires considering the history of the human species

32. How we know the past • Memory • Account from eye-witness • Contemporaneous records • Historians’ accounts • Stories, folklore • Human artifacts • Fossils • Radioactive dating • Comparative studies • Anatomy • Genetic sequence • Language

33. The past of the human race • Hunter-gatherers • Small tribes • Stone tools • Fire • Language • Art • Farming • Settlements • Metal tools 10,000 4,000

34. Early Civilizations Egypt Mesopotamia Kingdoms of Israel & Judah China India Maya

35. Great Philosophers The Death of Socrates Jacgues-Louis David, 1787 Confucius and His Students Ming Dynasty. From Wikipedia “Do not do to others what angers you if done to you by others” “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle” “True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us” “To find yourself, think for yourself” “What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others” “To be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it” “Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance” “The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large”

36. Great Religions Christianity Judaism Hinduism Islam Buddhism

37. The Rise of Science “In the discussion of natural problems we ought to begin not with the Scriptures, but with experiments and demonstrations” “Measure what is measurable, and make measurable what is not” Galileo (1564-1642) “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants” “I can calculate the motion of the heavenly bodies, but not the madness of the people” Newton (1642-1726)

38. Literature “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.” Shakespeare (1564-1616) The Globe Theatre “A day wasted on others is not wasted on one's self.” “Charity begins at home, and justice begins next door.“ Dickens (1812-1870)

39. Prosperity “All mankind … being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions” “All wealth is the product of labour” John Locke (1632-1704) “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their self interest” “Little else is requisite to carry a state to the highest degree of opulence from the lowest barbarism but peace, easy taxes, and a tolerable administration of justice” “Virtue is more to be feared than vice, because its excesses are not subject to the regulation of conscience” Adam Smith (1723-1790)

40. Industrialisation Technological innovations led to machines that increased output, using less labour Effect of industrialisation on income levels (Gross Domestic Product) From Wikipedia

41. Socialism Struggle between the Bourgeoisie (Capitalists) and the Proletariat (Working Class) “The production of too many useful things results in too many useless people” “Capital is dead labour, which, vampire-like, lives only by sucking living labour” “The theory of Communism may be summed up in one sentence: Abolish all private property” “From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs” “Democracy is the road to socialism” Karl Marx (1818-1883)

42. Course Learning Outcomes • Demonstrate an understanding and awareness of the various domains of human progress • Describe and explain the basic principles of evolutionary theory as a model for human progress • Demonstrate an understanding of how trade and specialization are central to human advancement • Apply general knowledge and understanding of evolutionary theory, psychology, and the scientific method to solving some societal problems

43. Weekly Lectures • In sequential order, each week a chapter in The Rational Optimist will be reviewed, with particular aspects highlighted and expanded • The PowerPoint presentation will be made available just before the class starts • Lectures will often contain videos of experts in particular areas, since it is often best to hear ideas from those who either came up

44. The Rational Optimist • Chapter One - A better today: the unprecedented present • Chapter Two - The collective brain: exchange and specialisation after 200,000 years ago • Chapter Three - The manufacture of virtue: barter, trust and rules after 50,000 years ago • Chapter Four - The feeding of the nine billion: farming after 10,000 years ago • Chapter Five - The triumph of cities: trade after 5,000 years ago • Chapter Six - Escaping Malthus’s trap: population after 1200 • Chapter Seven - The release of slaves: energy after 1700 • Chapter Eight - The invention of invention: increasing returns after 1800 • Chapter Nine - Turning points: pessimism after 1900 • Chapter Ten - The two great pessimisms of today: Africa and climate after 2010 • Chapter Eleven - The catallaxy: rational optimism about 2100

45. Tutorials • Groups of 12 students • Meeting 1 hour per week, starting week 3 • Discussion of lecture content and application to problems in modern society • Discussion of other assignments • The same Tutor will conduct all tutorials Dr Larry Baum

46. Assessment • 30% tutorial participation (quality and quantity) • 30% blog contributions (approximately 1200-1500 words across the whole course) • 30% group presentation • 3 minutes of presentation per student • Will be conducted in the final tutorial class • 10% in-class quizzes • 3 or 4 short in-class quizzes will be given to assess understand of previous lectures/readings

47. Conclusions • The scientific method is based on constant questioning, innovative hypotheses, rational discourse, and empirical experiments • Important questions concerning values and morals are outside the realm of science, but are the subject of philosophy, religion and literature • Human societies have evolved over the millennia from small hunter-gatherer communities to cities and states supported by farming, and finally through industrialization to modern mixed capitalist / socialist economies • Specialization and trade has been central to driving this process