  This chapter synthesizes evidence from cognitive science, evolutionary
theory, anthropology, psychological studies, and computational models for a
complex systems inspired theory of creativity, and its role in cultural
evolution. Creativity is guided by the global shape of one's integrated network
of memories, concepts, and beliefs: one's worldview. This integrated structure
and its dynamical change over time are described using autocatalytic networks.
Autocatalytic networks can interact with each other, and they can grow and
evolve; through interactions between their components, they generate novel
components. Thus, they are used to describe cultural change both within and
between individuals, as well as across cultural lineages. The chapter outlines
autocatalytic network models of the origin of culture, the cognitive
developmental process by which each child becomes a participant in cultural
evolution, and the role of imitation, leadership, and social media on cultural
evolution, as well as the trade-off between creativity and continuity.
