Selection
Volume/Issue:
Volume 3: Issue 1
The Significance of Tacit Knowledge in the Evolution of Human Language
Author:
T. Knudsen Department of Marketing, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Southern Denmark Campusvej 55, DK-5230 Odense, Denmark

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Pages:
93–112
Online Publication Date:
22 Jul 2005
Publication Date:
01 Nov 2002
Article Category:
Research Article
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1556/select.3.2002.1.8
Keywords:
Tacit transmission hypothesis; Tacit transmission hypothesis; linguistic selection theory; local copy selection; social replicator; social interactor
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The present article introduces the theory of cultural evolution as a possible basis for treating language as a selection process. Cultural evolution is often thought to be Lamarckian, involving the transmission of explicit concepts. A possible complementary neo-Darwinian principle operating in the social realm is defined in terms of the tacit knowledge that underlies explicit concepts. Since some forms of tacit knowledge cannot be adapted, a neo-Darwinian principle of cultural evolution is established. This is attractive because Lamarckian selection is plagued by a problem of maintaining stability in the face of individual-level adaptation. A statistical argument is presented, indicating that this problem requires the need to protect the Central Dogma in its wider form, also when language is treated as a selection process. In the course of the argument a definition is provided of the replicating cultural code that aims to clarify previous definitions. The usual “memetic” definition of interactors is also reconsidered in order to open the possibility of explanations with a causal structure equivalent to the neo-Darwinian or Lamarckian explanations.

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Cover Selection
Selection
Print ISSN:
1585-1931
Online ISSN:
1588-287X

Selection
Language English
Year of
Foundation		 2001
Publication
Programme		 ceased
Publisher Akadémiai Kiadó
Publisher's
Address		 H-1117 Budapest, Hungary 1516 Budapest, PO Box 245.
Responsible
Publisher		 Chief Executive Officer, Akadémiai Kiadó
ISSN 1585-1931 (Print)
ISSN 1588-287X (Online)

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