Evolution Without Genes - Dr. Liane Gabora (Part 1), DemystifySci #390

Biology explains how life evolves ... but culture follows different rules. Today we're looking at why human culture requires a separate evolutionary framework. Dr. Liane Gabora (University of British Columbia) traces how culture emerges through self-organizing minds, not genes, unfolding like a long riff that finds its meaning only while being played. Language, memory, and creativity arise through a sudden inner shift, where symbols begin talking to each other and thought turns inward on itself. What follows is an account of human origins that feels less like machinery and more like confession: culture as a conscious system, restless, cumulative, and unfinished.Part 2: https://youtu.be/nVpXwd9ke1APATREON https://www.patreon.com/c/demystifysciPARADIGM DRIFThttps://demystifysci.com/paradigm-drift-showHOMEBREW MUSIC - Check out our new album!Hard Copies (Vinyl): FREE SHIPPING https://demystifysci-shop.fourthwall.com/products/vinyl-lp-secretary-of-nature-everything-is-so-good-hereStreaming:https://secretaryofnature.bandcamp.com/album/everything-is-so-good-here00:00 Go! Evolution Beyond Darwin00:02:17 Humans as Uniquely Cultural Beings00:05:05 Evolution as a Creative, Systemic Process00:08:08 Modeling Cultural Evolution in Artificial Life00:11:13 Autocatalytic Networks and the Origin of Life00:14:00 From Pre-Darwinian to Darwinian Evolution00:17:08 Epigenetics and the Limits of Darwin’s Model00:20:17 Autocatalysis vs Autopoiesis00:23:20 Molecular Cooperation and Phase Transitions00:26:20 Culture as a Cognitive Autocatalytic Network00:27:55 From Chemical Chaos to Genetic Fidelity00:30:09 Memory, Accuracy, and Cumulative Complexity00:32:43 What Culture Is (and Is Not)00:37:00 Cumulative Culture and Human Uniqueness00:38:56 Language as a Cultural Catalyst00:42:12 Pre-Language Symbols and Shared Meaning00:43:07 The Cultural Big Bang00:44:57 Minds as Autocatalytic Webs00:49:04 Time, Memory, and Abstract Thought00:53:26 Cognitive Integration and Creative Thinking00:56:28 Triggers for the Cultural Phase Shift01:00:00 Culture as a Phase Transition in the Mind01:02:18 Why Phase Transitions Feel So Strange #culturalevolution, #humanorigins, #creativity, #consciousness, #evolutionarytheory, #origins, #philosophyofmind, #humanbehavior, #language, #emergence, #complexity, #futureofhumanity, #deepconversations #philosophypodcast MERCH: Rock some DemystifySci gear : https://demystifysci-shop.fourthwall.com/AMAZON: Do your shopping through this link: https://amzn.to/3YyoT98DONATE: https://bit.ly/3wkPqaDSUBSTACK: https://substack.com/@UCqV4_7i9h1_V7hY48eZZSLw@demystifysci RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/2be66934/podcast/rssMAILING LIST: https://bit.ly/3v3kz2S SOCIAL: - Discord: https://discord.gg/MJzKT8CQub- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DemystifySci- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DemystifySci/- Twitter: https://twitter.com/DemystifySciMUSIC: -Shilo Delay: https://g.co/kgs/oty671