"Scientific Progress via Model Transfer? The Case of Cultural Evolution"
Leibniz Universitä\;t Hannover
April 9&ndash\;10\, 2026
Submission Details
\nConfirmed Speakers:Alberto Acerbi\, Hanne Andersen\, Christine Caldwell\, Mathieu Charbonneau\, Heidi Colleran\, Catherine Herfeld\, Julie Jebeile\, Thomas Reydon\, Armin Schulz\, Lena Zuchowski. \;
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Over the past decades\, Cultural Evolution Theory has become a thriving research programme\, using formal models from genetics\, game theory\, Bayesian learning\, and network science to explain phenomena such as language change\, technology adoption\, and social norms.
At the same time\, philosophers of science have turned their attention to model transfer\, that is\, the movement of models and modeling techniques across disciplines. What exactly travels in these transfers\, and under what conditions do they generate genuine knowledge rather than mere analogy?
By bringing together scholars from cultural evolutionary research and from philosophy of science\, the workshop aims to open a timely and much-needed conversation on the relations between model transfer and scientific progress by taking cultural evolution as a prime case study.
We welcome submissions on topics including (but not limited to):
Topics for discussion in the workshop include (but are not limited to):
\nModel transfer and scientific progress
\nHow can model transfer be understood as a form of scientific progress?
\nHow does it compare with more classical accounts of progress (e.g.\, accumulation of knowledge\, increasing explanatory power\, unification)?
\nCase Studies from Cultural Evolution
\nIn what ways do the success stories of Cultural Evolutionary Theory (e.g.\, phylogenetic trees\, network models of innovation and diffusion\, and gene&ndash\;culture co-evolution of social norms) serve as compelling test cases for evaluating scientific progress through model transfer?
\nConceptual and technical challenges
\nWhat exactly counts as a model or a template in Cultural Evolutionary Theory? \;
\nHow are biological concepts\, such as fitness\, selection\, and drift\, adapted and/or generalized\, both conceptually and technically\, when applied to domains like economics or linguistics?
\nLimits and risks of model transfer
\nWhen does imported modelling machinery advance explanation\, prediction\, and integration?
\nWhen might model transfer obscure domain-specific realities or lead to distortions?
\nHow can researchers identify and mitigate these risks?
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