Isabella Sarto-Jackson contributed a chapter titled, "Die sozio-kulturelle Beschleunigung der Evolution (translated as The Socio-Cultural Acceleration of Evolution)" to the book Wechselwirkungen und Zufall in der Evolution (translated as Interactions and Chance in Evolution), edited by Markus Knoflacher (Club of Vienna). Each chapter in this volume examines characteristics of evolutionary processes that continue to challenge human society from a unique perspective, and also provides a compelling reflection that contradicts the dominant ideas of humans' complete control and predictability over all earthly processes—concepts which are increasingly encapsulated in the term "Anthropocene. In her chapter, Isabella explores the key factors influencing human evolution, and their interactions, highlighting how they have shaped the unique evolutionary trajectory of humans.

Here is a summary of the chapter in Isabella's words: In the last three million years of hominid evolution, the brain volume of humans has tripled. This extraordinary increase in brain volume occurred at the same time as evolutionary pressures constrained the anatomy of the maternal pelvis­­­­­­­­. These opposed evolutionary pressures resulted in human infants being born with relatively "immature" brains compared to other primates. Subsequently, a significant part of human brain development takes place outside of the motherly womb, embedded in the socio-cultural environment. These socio-cultural factors shape brain development by driving experience-dependent, neuroplastic processes. Hence, biology-environment interactions are responsible for the remarkable cognitive performance of modern humans and influence both, the individual brain development and the evolutionary course of our species. This has become particularly noteworthy over the last few centuries with epistemogenesis having turned out to be a hallmark of human evolution. Epistemogenesis, understood as the accumulation of knowledge over generations, bestows a significant advantage on its possessor by facilitating adaptation to changing environments, e.g., through niche construction processes and socio-cultural transmission.

For the longest time of evolutionary history, growth of knowledge was an exceptionally slow process. However, with the advent of artifacts manufactured by our hominid ancestors, human evolution sped up by several orders of magnitude. This was due to knowledge no longer being limited to the body of an individual and its somatic memory, but being shared collectively allowing for cumulative cultural evolution. In other words, knowledge acquisition occurred in a goal-directed manner, knowledge accumulation became strongly dependent on already existing knowledge, and its growth trajectory became linear. Over the last centuries, symbolic culture has taken center stage, fostering institutionalized knowledge transmission thereby further accelerating epistemogenesis. Since the Anthropocene, knowledge has accumulated exponentially in some areas, especially in science and technology, as new discoveries not only build upon previous ones, but can also mutually interact and scaffold each other, leading to a snowball effect. This pattern of compounded knowledge accumulation may explain the rapid climax of human evolution and at the same time may prompt us to reflect on the impending future of our species and the environment affected.

Publication: Isabella Sarto-Jackson (2024). Die sozio-kulturelle Beschleunigung der Evolution. In Wechselwirkungen und Zufall in der Evolution. Edited by Markus Knoflacher, Club of Vienna. (pp:155-183). LIT Verlag Münster.