It’s WEIRD how much Joseph Henrich needs computational simulation

Abstract

the center of pre-modern states. The Catholic Church, conceived as a sort of “super-tribe” (p. 151), had a lasting effect of the mind of the West, he argues, because it instituted a new set of kinship rules. In laying out this comparison, my goal was to situate Henrich’s book in a Weberian lineage. Doing so, highlights the ambitious, comparative scope of Henrich’s work, its significance, and the need for critique by experts from many different fields. Like Weber’s work, Henrich’s thesis deserves rigorous and extended critique. But regardless of the fate of his thesis, his method deserves study as an updating of Weber’s comparative sociology, grounded in a firmer, more sophisticated understanding of the co-evolution of culture and cognition.