<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The paper argues that humanity has entered a new stage of evolution: epistemic evolution. Just as cultural evolution emerged against the background of biological evolution, epistemic evolution began as an aspect of cultural evolution and now dominates the global fate of humanity. It is characterized by the increasing dependence of global society on the achievements and further extension of science and technology in order to ensure its sustainability in the age of the Anthropocene. The historical development of knowledge is reviewed from an evolutionary perspective that introduces key concepts of an historical epistemology.</p></abstract>

The paper argues that humanity has entered a new stage of evolution: epistemic evolution. Just as cultural evolution emerged against the background of biological evolution, epistemic evolution began as an aspect of cultural evolution and now dominates the global fate of humanity. It is characterized by the increasing dependence of global society on the achievements and further extension of science and technology in order to ensure its sustainability in the age of the Anthropocene. The historical development of knowledge is reviewed from an evolutionary perspective that introduces key concepts of an historical epistemology.

The Evolution of Knowledge: Rethinking Science in the Anthropocene

Max Planck Institute for the History of Science

HoST - Journal  of History of Science and Technology

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"The Evolution of Knowledge: Rethinking Science in the Anthropocene"}

The paper argues that humanity has entered a new stage of evolution: epistemic evolution. Just as cultural evolution emerged against the background of...

The Evolution of Knowledge: Rethinking Science in the Anthropocene

Published Online: Oct 04, 2018

Page range: 1 - 22

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/host-2018-0001

Keywords
epistemic evolution, cultural evolution, Anthropocene, global society

© 2018 Jürgen Renn, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The Evolution of Knowledge: Rethinking Science in the Anthropocene

Published Online: Oct 04, 2018

Page range: 1 - 22

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/host-2018-0001

Keywordsepistemic evolution, cultural evolution, Anthropocene, global society

© 2018 Jürgen Renn, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
epistemic evolution, cultural evolution, Anthropocene, global society