Penn, Alan;
(2024)
Morphic languages provide a possible ratchet mechanism to support a novel kind of major evolutionary transition at the end of the Neolithic era.
In:
Proceedings of the 14th International Space Syntax Symposium.
Space Syntax Symposium: Nicosia, Cyprus.
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Abstract
A mechanism is suggested through which human social forms gained heredity – the ability to reproduce social structures beyond the lifespan of the individual members concerned. It is suggested that it was the invention of dense proto urban settlement at the end of the neolithic that created a new set of coupled ‘morphic languages’ (Hillier et al 1976) in which spatial forms become embedded along with institutional structures. The feedback between these languages operating on different timescales created a ratchet mechanism that supports continual and accelerating socio-economic and technological innovation. Unlike previous major evolutionary transitions, this transition shifted the locus of heredity from the biological individual to the social group enabling a shift into an autocatalytic form that continues to shape human evolution, fostering accelerating socio-technical innovation.
| Type: | Proceedings paper |
|---|---|
| Title: | Morphic languages provide a possible ratchet mechanism to support a novel kind of major evolutionary transition at the end of the Neolithic era |
| Event: | 14th International Space Syntax Symposium (SSS14) |
| Location: | Nicosia, Cyprus |
| Dates: | 23 Jun 2024 - 27 Jun 2024 |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Publisher version: | https://cyprusconferences.org/14sss/ |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Evolutionary biology, Morphic language, Politogenesis, Social evolution, Major evolutionary transition (MET) |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > The Bartlett School of Architecture |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10205772 |
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