A transdisciplinary approach to growing an applied science of cultural evolution for a sustainable future

Addressing sustainability challenges requires an integrative approach that bridges scientific research with practical application. The field of cultural evolution (CE) offers a perspective that may guide transitions and cultural transformations for a sustainable future. However, there have been few efforts to apply this field to sustainability challenges. This study explores how CE can inform sustainability practices through mechanisms of social learning, processes of cultural adaptation and conditions that promote cooperative governance. Through a two-phase research design-comprising online discussions with professionals from six domains, and an international workshop-we examined the perceived benefits, challenges and opportunities for applying CE in real-world contexts. Our findings indicate that professionals recognize CE's potential to enhance knowledge dissemination, foster adaptation to social-ecological changes, improve governance structures and generate cooperation. However, barriers such as complex terminology, unfamiliarity with CE, the lack of clear, context-specific evidence of added value and competition with existing frameworks hinder its application. To overcome these challenges, we propose simplifying CE concepts, demonstrating its unique contributions, and continuing to foster co-production with practitioners to refine its applicability. This study is an initial step in building an applied science of CE that can support sustainability transformations across diverse domains. This article is part of the theme issue 'Transforming cultural evolution research and its application to global futures'.

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Publication Details

Journal
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences
Published
2025-12-04
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2024.0263
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Language and cultural evolution
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
32.98

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article

A transdisciplinary approach to growing an applied science of cultural evolution for a sustainable future

Timothy Michael Waring, Rebecca Koomen, Erik Thulin, Minh Hieu Thi Nguyen et al.
2 citations
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences
Language and cultural evolution
32.98
article

A transdisciplinary approach to growing an applied science of cultural evolution for a sustainable future

Timothy Michael Waring, Rebecca Koomen, Erik Thulin, Minh Hieu Thi Nguyen, Susan Hanisch, Dustin Eirdosh, Anne C. Pisor, Peter Søgaard Jørgensen, Rainer Romero‐Canyas, Jeremy Brooks, Moh. Abdul Hakim, Richard E. W. Berl, James Hou-fu Liu, Wendy Chávez‐Páez, Douglas J. Rogers, Christine Lindell
article en
2 citations

Abstract

Addressing sustainability challenges requires an integrative approach that bridges scientific research with practical application. The field of cultural evolution (CE) offers a perspective that may guide transitions and cultural transformations for a sustainable future. However, there have been few efforts to apply this field to sustainability challenges. This study explores how CE can inform sustainability practices through mechanisms of social learning, processes of cultural adaptation and conditions that promote cooperative governance. Through a two-phase research design-comprising online discussions with professionals from six domains, and an international workshop-we examined the perceived benefits, challenges and opportunities for applying CE in real-world contexts. Our findings indicate that professionals recognize CE's potential to enhance knowledge dissemination, foster adaptation to social-ecological changes, improve governance structures and generate cooperation. However, barriers such as complex terminology, unfamiliarity with CE, the lack of clear, context-specific evidence of added value and competition with existing frameworks hinder its application. To overcome these challenges, we propose simplifying CE concepts, demonstrating its unique contributions, and continuing to foster co-production with practitioners to refine its applicability. This study is an initial step in building an applied science of CE that can support sustainability transformations across diverse domains. This article is part of the theme issue 'Transforming cultural evolution research and its application to global futures'.

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological SciencesVol. 380(1940)
Sebelas Maret University (ID), United States Geological Survey (US), World Vision (US), Environmental Defense Fund (US), Pennsylvania State University (US), Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (SE), University of Bonn (DE), Stockholm University (SE), Schiller International University (FR), Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (SE), Swedish Academy (SE), Climate Outreach (GB), World Vision International (GB), Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (DE), Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique (MA), Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology (DE), Baotou Research Institute of Rare Earths (CN), Massey University (NZ), The Ohio State University (US), University of Southern Maine (US), Friedrich Schiller University Jena (DE), University of Maine (US)
John Templeton Foundation, Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionäre Anthropologie, U.S. Geological Survey
Openalex Percentile: Top 0%
Language and cultural evolution
32.98
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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