lateral inferential thinking or lateral empirically weighted connective tissue
seems to be a core of consilience as a truth-finding mechanism
for example
mythology like egyptian mythology paints story archs (that have survived thousands of years)
of how institutions and order grow, evolve, and die out
this is also painted through modern historical analysis via ray dalio in the rise and fall of world orders
institutions can be seen as set of memes similar to culture, except with more explicit rule-making and incentive application via financial, economic, or physical means
since the bundle of memes and rules and incentives can evolve
the question since before plato’s republic has been around how to evolve memes, rules, and incentives in the role of governance
this is shown theologically and mythologically and historically via parables, stories, and the empirical study of rise and fall of nations, ideologies, and value systems
one core theme has been when does the “integrity of the individual” renew the “state?”
and when does the immunity to change of the state, stultify any attempts to evolve the state?
a key question here lies in the regulatory and governing recognition of institutional decay
ie outdated assumptions and foundations are not fit for changing circumstances
neo darwinism reflects some of niestzchean thinking around ubermensche
which in turn reflect the historical examples of institutional statehood evolution or decay
Neo-Darwinism
The central idea of neo-Darwinism is that evolution favors the genes that spread best through the population.
A common misconception about Darwinian Evolution is that it maximizes ‘the good of the species’. In reality evolution promotes the propagation of individual genes (sometimes to the detriment of the species).
Evolution does not especially promote the ‘welfare’ of species or individual organisms. It does not promote the ‘welfare’ of genes either: it adapts them not for survival in larger numbers, nor indeed for survival at all, but only for spreading through the population at the expense of rival genes, particularly slight variants of themselves.
Organisms are the slaves, or tools, that genes use to achieve their ‘purpose’ of spreading themselves through the population.
So, while evolution explains biological progress not all evolution constitutes progress, and no (genetic) evolution optimizes progress.
a key here is what is the updating protocol for the “system” that sets, enforced, evolves, and applies rules and incentives
ie the role of governance or running the socioeconomic operating system