UNDERSTANDING

SOCIETY,
CULTURE AND
POLITICS
Looking back at human
biocultural and social evolution
CHAPTER 3
“Evolution in simple terms is
about change”
 Human Biocultural and Social Evolution
 Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species (1859) idea of the evolution of all species challenged the
predominant knowledge at that time that all living creatures were created or reproduced uniquely with
unchanging biological attributes through time.
 It became a household term among scientist as they underscore that species, people, communities
societies and the like evolve because they adapt and change with their environment or within the
context where they are situated.
Theory of Evolution

Explains that we humans had evolved, and thus actually

can be traced, from our ape-like ancestry.
EVOLUTION

survival of
change adapt
the fittest

constant factor major driving force

Biological and cultural evolution

 Bioculture is defined as the relationship between human biology and culture.

Along the path of the biological evolution of a man, culture is also changing.
 Shows the changes occurring in the development of human beings as external
factors like how environmental influences contribute to the way human adapt to
their surroundings.
Hominid ancestors of modern humans
Cultural and Sociopolitical
Evolution
Gerhard Lenski’s five types of societies

Horticultural
Hunting and Agricultural
and pastoral
gathering societies
societies

Industrial Post-industrial
societies societies
Hunting and gathering society
(5 million years ago)
 Also called “foraging society” because survival is anchored on searching and gathering food from
nature.
 People used their basic human instinct and skills as a way to acquire food and shelter.
Hunting and
gathering society
Neolithic age- horticultural and pastoral
society (10,000-5,000 BCE)
 People discovered and cultivated the process of raising crops using handmade tools like hoe and stick
for digging through soil and animal for domestication.
 Horticulture is derived from the Latin word hortus, “garden” and colere, “to cultivate”.
 Neolithic age- horticultural and pastoral
society (10,000-5,000 BCE)

 The formation of gardens and crop fields gave the inhabitants stable
means of food production through farming. Food production became
easier and more accessible to the dwellers of this society.
Neolithic revolution- agricultural society
 Started the development of permanent settlements and the establishment of social classes and
eventually the rise of civilizations.
 Storage of food and distribution became apparent to supply the increasing number of population,
 The use of materials like metals, wheels and irrigation system led to the ploughing of fertile soils in
massive proportions.
 Enhance the production of food
Early civilization and the rise of the state

 Civilizations sprouted near the river

 Settlements grew to become complex territories and others as ancient empires that
provided the flourishing and development of writing system, wheels and
transportation, great architectural designs, wealth and status, and later on the
establishment of a state
 Defined as an organized political community under the management of a single
government
Democratization (around 500 BCE)

 Originated from the city-states of ancient Greece

 Stands for government of the people, by the people and for the people – Abraham
Lincoln
 Constitutional rules and regulations are used to guide how the government will
function
 The rule of the majority is based on due process of the law and the recognition of
the right of each individual
Pillars of democracy
1. Sovereignty of the people
2. Government based upon consent of the government
3. Majority rule
4. Minority rights
5. Guarantee of basic human rights
6. Free and fair elections
7. Equality before the law
8. Due process of law
9. Constitutional limits on government
10. Social, economic, and political pluralism
11. Values of tolerance, pragmatism, cooperation, and compromise
Industrial society
 The invention of steam machine was an important turning point in the transition from agricultural to
industrial society
 Emerging agricultural lands were converted as manufacturing to industrial sites
 Factories rise to prominence as iconic structures
 Individual skills and talents were very important to operate large machines
Industrial society
 Embraced technological functions
 Changing urban landscapes connected by transportation and communication
 Goods and commodities dominate the practice and discourse of modernization
Industrial

• Developed in Europe 250 years ago as

energy was harnessed to drive
machinery
• Provides modern conveniences and
advanced comm. and tech.
• Moves work from home to factory
• Raises living standard
 Raised the standard
of living

Laboured in factories
were low/dangerous
Gradually improved
and
in 19th century
monotonous/little job
security
INDUSTRIAL
REVOLUTIO
N

Greater volume and

Crafts people were
variety of factory-
replaced by machine
produced goods
Post-industrial society
 20th century marked the beginning of information
revolution
 Accessibility are faster and yield higher
productivity
 Globalization, network society, global village
and service economy
Marshall McLuhan

 One global village

 Unity in diversity (APEC, EU, ASEAN)
Manuel Castell

 Network society-has been criticized develop and developing countries

 Neoliberal Capitalism become global in scope
-it means that the control of economic forces is in the hands of private sector and
Multinational Companies
-less intervention of the state
-developing countries are treated as “dumping sites”
Daniel Bell

 Coined the term post-industrial society in 1973

 He mentions the following characteristics of our current era
Characteristics of our current era

1. “There is a shift from producing goods to creating services. Production of goods

(e.g clothing and shoes) declines while the production of services (e.g. fast food
and fitness coaching) increases. Direct manufacturers of goods are few.
2. Blue-collar, manual labor jobs (assembly line and welders) are replaced with
professional (e.g. doctor) and technical (e.g.computer analyst) jobs.
3. Transition to a focus on theoretical knowledge over practical know-how. Theoretical knowledge leads
to the creation of new, innovative, solutions (e.g knowledge created by doctors has led to new, effective
models of patient care)
4. Increased focus on the implication of new technologies, when and how they should be used, and when
and how to control them.
5. Creation of new scientific discipline (e.g. cybernetics and information technology to assess the impact
of the new technologies.
6. A critical need for higher education institutions like universities to create graduates who can develop
and control next wave of technological advancement.
Group Activity for Online Report

Biological evolution group

Cultural evolution group
Social evolution group
Political evolution group
Biological evolution group

Guide Questions:
 What would you think will happen to animals and other biological organisms?
 What species will survive and will not?
 What will be its effects to our food chain?
 What kind of food do you think man will consume?
Cultural evolution group

Guide Questions:
 Would you think music, religion, fashion and the likes matter in that future?
 What values would be important for humans?
 Do you think we will look and sound the same?
 Are we going to have one universal language? If so, what is it? How we are going
to be born?
Social evolution group

Guide Questions:
 Are going to compete aggressively for food and for basic needs and then hate or
eliminate other people in the process?
 Will we become a loner or group dependent?
 Will there be schools, church, associations and governments? How would they
function?
Political evolution group

Guide Questions:
 What kind of leaders do we have do we have in the future-dictator, charismatic,
human/robotic/artificial intelligence?
 Will there still be an election?
 Will having a constitution still relevant?
 What about opposition, protest and political criticism-are these going to be
tolerated?