Iranian Culture, a Complex Adaptive System; How Do Ideas Become ‘Self-Organizing’ and Transformed Without a Leader? / A Living Entity Called Culture
According to Khabaronline News Agency, citing IBNAT’s Religion and Thought Service, Reza Dastjerdi wrote: “An Introduction to the Evolution of Culture,” which focuses on memetics with systemic and semiotic approaches and its applications in art studies, is a new release from Chaw Publications. Authored by Kamran Paknejad, a PhD graduate in Art Research, the book adopts a novel and interdisciplinary perspective to address one of the most fundamental questions of the contemporary era: “Can culture, like the natural world, be subject to the laws of evolution?” and “Are the mechanisms that operate in living organisms also observable in the realm of human thought, meaning, and social behaviors?” In response to these questions, the author bases his work on an emerging field called Memetics and blends it with complexity theory and cultural semiotics.
At first glance, the book is reminiscent of a philosophical and scientific approach that transcends the traditional boundaries of human sciences. Just as Darwin explained life within the framework of competition, mutation, and adaptation with his theory of natural selection, the author of this book also asserts that similar behavioral patterns exist in the realm of culture, where ideas, beliefs, symbols, and cultural habits, like genes in living organisms, undergo survival, change, and evolution.
Kamran Paknejad
Paknejad begins his preface with an etymological discussion, examining the roots of the word “culture” in Persian and other languages. The author, referring to the ancient origin of the word “Farhang” in Middle Persian (from the root “Far” meaning ‘forward’ and “Tang” meaning ‘to pull’), and comparing it with the Latin word “Culture” meaning “to cultivate and nurture,” shows that the concept of culture has always been intertwined with the process of growth, education, and upbringing. He then chooses the classic definition by 19th-century English anthropologist Edward Tylor as his starting point; a definition that considers culture “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.”
The author then points out the shortcomings of classical approaches in cultural studies, particularly the absence of a holistic perspective that could interpret scattered historical, social, psychological, and philosophical data within a comprehensive theory. He fills this gap by utilizing evolutionary theories and complex systems, which, in the 1970s, with the emergence of fundamental questions about the continuity of biological patterns at the cultural level, paved the way for the formation of Memetics.
From the author’s perspective, just as genes carry biological information, “memes” carry cultural information. A meme can be an idea, a social custom, a piece of music, or even a linguistic term; something that is transmitted from one mind to another and competes with other memes for survival. Within this framework, culture is seen as a network of memes that transform over time under the influence of the environment, technology, and human interactions.
However, what distinguishes this work from other similar books is its semiotic approach. The author does not merely content himself with an evolutionary analysis of culture but also addresses the transformation of cultural elements in two dimensions: “morphological” and “semantic.” Culture, from this perspective, is a system of signs that reproduces and recreates its meanings within a social context. Each sign, like a cultural gene, can undergo mutation, reinterpretation, or deletion when confronted with new environments.
On the other hand, Complexity Theory is the methodological backbone of the book. Relying on this theory, the author demonstrates that culture, like living systems, is a Complex Adaptive System. In such a system, macroscopic behaviors emerge from microscopic interactions among components, without any single center or authority guiding them. Just as social behaviors or cultural trends are not the product of individual will, but rather the result of synergy, competition, and mutual adaptation.
In addition to theoretical explanations, the book also addresses the practical and research aspects of this approach. By proposing interdisciplinary study models, the author seeks to show how memetics and complexity theory can be used to analyze cultural and artistic phenomena. From changes in artistic styles to linguistic and social transformations, all can be re-examined in light of this evolutionary perspective.
One of the notable aspects of the book is the precise comparison between “behavioral patterns in biological and cultural evolution.” The author explains that although conceptual similarities exist between genes and memes, significant differences are observed in detail: memes, unlike genes, are not composed of physical matter, but are products of mental and communicative processes; their mutation is faster, and their selection environment is more variable. However, the fundamental principles of “struggle for existence,” “natural selection,” and “adaptation” hold true at both levels.
Paknejad, in the final section, specifically points to the application of this perspective in contemporary Iranian cultural studies. In his view, many cultural developments in transitional societies, including Iranian society, can be analyzed from the perspective of meme competition and evolutionary dynamics. New ideas, novel artistic styles, and even changes in linguistic structures all emerge in the course of a cultural natural selection that leads successful memes to survive and spread.
The book’s language is scientific yet understandable. By avoiding unnecessary complexities, the author interweaves biological concepts with cultural examples and employs clear metaphors. Instead of treating culture as a static and abstract subject, he views it as a dynamic, self-organizing, and evolving entity that multiplies or modifies with every human interaction. Furthermore, structurally, the book has several distinct features: 1. A synthetic approach: combining theories of evolution, semiotics, and complexity; 2. An interdisciplinary method: linking natural and human sciences, biology, and philosophy of culture; 3. Focus on the dynamism of cultural elements: studying culture as a network of signs and changing behaviors; 4. Applicability of theory: proposing models for empirical analysis of cultural and artistic phenomena.
“An Introduction to the Evolution of Culture” has been published in 225 pages by Chajoo Publications.
