Miller, however, criticizes the idea that “art conveys cultural values and socializes the young,” writing that,
“The view that art conveys cultural values and socializes the young seems plausible at first glance. It could be called the propaganda theory of art. The trouble with propaganda is that it is usually produced only by large institutions that can pay propagandists. In small prehistoric bands, who would have any incentive to spend the time and energy producing group propaganda? It would be an altruistic act in the technical biological sense: a behavior with high costs to the individual and diffuse benefits to the group. Such altruism is not usually favored by evolution.”
The answer to Miller’s question—who produces the propaganda?—is quite clear in the ethnographic data: the old men do.
Altruism is not usually favored by evolution, but if the same mechanism by which we prefer to spread our genetic information recognizes other kinds of information, then it would not feel altruistic from the inside. Rather, making songs and having other people sing them would be its own reward in precisely the same way having children does.
More on semi-altruism: Darwin’s Unfinished Symphony argues that what sets humans apart is our ability to reliably teach (review here).
If we consistently teach well, it seems to me it must consistently yield rewards for the teachers. As with the argument for storytellers in the example above, this may be in the form of benefits from social connections. But, because we know time discounting is a thing and it takes time to teach people something, it seems likely to me that there is an intrinsinc reward for teaching. A reasonable way to describe teaching would be mutualizing information.
Seemingly altruistic actions such as creating art and music may qualify. From Sexual Selection Through Mate Choice Does Not Explain the Evolution of Art and Music:
Altruism is not usually favored by evolution, but if the same mechanism by which we prefer to spread our genetic information recognizes other kinds of information, then it would not feel altruistic from the inside. Rather, making songs and having other people sing them would be its own reward in precisely the same way having children does.
More on semi-altruism: Darwin’s Unfinished Symphony argues that what sets humans apart is our ability to reliably teach (review here).
If we consistently teach well, it seems to me it must consistently yield rewards for the teachers. As with the argument for storytellers in the example above, this may be in the form of benefits from social connections. But, because we know time discounting is a thing and it takes time to teach people something, it seems likely to me that there is an intrinsinc reward for teaching. A reasonable way to describe teaching would be mutualizing information.