ABSTRACT
Signal selection introduces a new dimension into Darwinian analysis because it does not refer to the determination of purely individual adaptation, but to the coordination of behaviour among a network of individuals. The theory of signal selection underlies the theory of social network markets, which implies that the latter are only a special case of a most general evolutionary phenomenon. The crucial difference between cultural science and cultural studies is that the latter focuses on the interpretive potential of the human mind. Thus, cultural science is grounded on a few foundational concepts, which amount to the naturalisation of knowledge and culture, while at the same time eschewing sociobiological reductionism. In principle, this avoidance of reductionism is the outcome of the internal discussion in biology about Darwinism, which confronts the neo-Darwinian mainstream with an increasing number of non-reductionist alternatives within the Darwinian paradigm.
