UNDERSTANDING SOCIETY,

CULTURE AND POLITICS

Prepared by. Ms. Shiela Mae B. Combalicer
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

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
 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
 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.
 Simulation Activity
• Let us imagine our Earth in the future. What if in
that future our natural environment is totally used
up or destroyed in the name of progress. No more
trees, water streams, oceans, clean air and organic
food. How do you think humans would adapt given
this scenario?
Instructions:
1. Form four groups in the class. Each group will be
assigned with one topic (biological, cultural, social
and political evolution).
2. The starting point for this for the discussion is that
humans must survive despite the destruction of
their natural environment.
 Group Activity
• Biological evolution group- ppt.
presentation
• Cultural evolution group- music video
• Social evolution group-short film
• Political evolution group-short play
 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?