Semiotic coevolution by organic and sociocultural selection

Abstract

In this article, the main points of Cousins's article The Semiotic Coevolution of Mind and Culture are briefly presented to sum up his fruitful and rich contribution. It is the opportunity to make a few comments on a semiotic approach to human evolution and natural selection, with a particular emphasis on the social dimension. The role played by the niche construction in the semiotic coevolution proposed by Cousins invites me to suggest a closer look at education as a critical social behavior at stakes in phylogenetic development. The key role of the social and cultural in the selection pressures created by the construction of a particular niche is leading us to question the old notion of Nature in the biological concept of “natural selection,” and to suggest a sociocultural and organic selection process.