Abstract
One promising way to investigate the genealogy of norms is by considering not the origin of norms, but rather what makes certain norms more likely to prevail. Emotional responses, I maintain, constitute one important set of mechanisms that affects the cultural viability of norms. To corroborate this, I exploit historical evidence indicating that sixteenth-century etiquette norms prohibiting disgusting actions were much more likely to survive than other sixteenth-century etiquette norms. This case suggests more broadly that research on cultural evolution should pay greater attention to the role of emotion systems in cultural transmission.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 234-255 |
Number of pages | 22 |
Journal | Philosophy of Science |
Volume | 69 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 2002 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- History
- Philosophy
- History and Philosophy of Science