The Evolution of Everything Book Summary - The Evolution of Everything Book explained in key points

Listen to the Intro

00:00

The Evolution of Everything summary

Name: The Evolution of Everything
Rating: 4.3 (63 reviews)
Author: Matt Ridley

Matt Ridley

How New Ideas Emerge

4.3 (63 ratings)

15 mins

Table of Contents

The Evolution of Everything
summarized in 7 key ideas

Audio & text in the Blinkist app

Key idea 1 of 7

What’s in it for me? Unfold the evolution of everything around you.

When we think of evolution, we usually think of the monkey-to-man picture and the mind-boggling research being done on the human genome. But have you ever considered the evolution of everything beyond biology?

These blinks explore evolution outside the realm of genetics, be it the evolution of morality, economy, language or technology. Typically, we’re taught that these things are created in a top-down manner, by leaders, scientists, priests, businesspeople, and so on. But actually, when evolution is understood in its broadest sense – i.e., as the gradual development of something – it is far more common for things to evolve from the bottom up.

The author argues that evolution, in the bottom-up sense, can explain virtually all human cultural changes.

You’ll also learn

what DNA and language have in common;
why the Wild West wasn’t so wild after all; and
how money got monopolized.

With few exceptions, the history of Western thought is shaped by a creationist perspective.

When we think of evolution, we often think of biology, Charles Darwin and his evolutionary theory. But the word “evolution” doesn’t just denote genetics. Originally, “evolution” meant “unfolding” and described how things gradually changed without a plan.

And yet, the history of Western thought has been dominated by a creationist mode of thinking. That is, explaining the world through design and planning.

Consider a few examples:

The ancient Greek philosopher Plato thought that society functioned by mimicking a designed cosmic order; in The Iliad, Homer had gods deciding the outcome of battles; much later, the Christian reformer Martin Luther stated that our fate lay in the hands of God; the nineteenth-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche believed that healthy societies were made by the plans of powerful leaders; and Karl Marx claimed that a planned state was the best means to encourage economic and social progress.

The list goes on. Again and again, we see top-down descriptions of how the world is designed or should be organized. However, there are a few exceptions to this creationist mode of thinking. Just take the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus.

Epicurus believed that the physical world, including society and morality, emerged spontaneously, needing no divinity or royal power to explain it. Everything, he said, was made of invisible atoms which followed the laws of nature rather than the laws of God.

The Roman poet Lucretius adopted Epicurus’s stance, stating that the world was made of invisible particles. He believed the world had no creator and life had no end or purpose.

Epicurus and Lucretius were thus precursors to Darwin. We’ll explore this in detail in the blink.

Darwinian evolution removed the notion of creationism from biology.

It was the ideas of philosophers and poets such as Epicurus and Lucretius and, later, Enlightenment thinkers like David Hume, which gave rise to the question: “If God is the designer of humans and the world, who designed the designer?”

However, it was Charles Darwin who eliminated creationism from biology and replaced it with a theory of evolution through natural selection. Darwin came up with his theory of biological evolution after his sailing expedition to the Galápagos Islands, where he collected various animals and plants, and meticulously observed and reflected on his findings.

Evolution exists in culture, the economy and technology.

Although we associate it with biology and genetics, evolution’s reach is much longer than this. Evolution is inevitable in any system where information is transmitted with a degree of randomness, such as the genetic information in our DNA that we pass on to our children or the cultural information we impart to them when we raise them.

In other words, evolution applies to human culture, too. The best example can be seen in the evolution of language. Actually, there is a strong parallel between the evolution of DNA and the evolution of language. Both are systems capable of combining a small number of basic building blocks to form virtually infinite permutations.

Morality and religion are not God-given, but have evolved with society.

Most religions teach that morality is prescribed by God. For instance, the Judeo-Christian God had Moses climb Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments to pass on to his people. In Islam, it was Muhammad who received the word of God and imparted this to his people.

However, God isn’t necessary for morality. Rather, morality evolves through social interaction in which people seek out ways to communicate successfully and happily.

Creationist thinking shapes concepts of personality development and education.

Did you know that twins raised apart have very similar personalities? This is a fascinating discovery, because until the 1990s, psychologists widely assumed that personality depended only on a child’s upbringing.

Even today, our idea of personality development is shaped by the creationist belief that culture creates a child’s personality when, in actuality it evolves from within. Consider the following example: toy shops are split into girls’ and boys’ aisles where parents are encouraged to buy trucks for boys and dolls for girls. This angers people who believe that behavioral differences between the sexes are culturally forced upon children. But while it’s true that culture evolves, this doesn’t necessarily mean that personality evolves along with culture, or that culture creates personality.

Innovation evolves on its own – there’s no need for leaders or governments to “create” it.

In its first edition, the Encyclopédie – the encyclopedia of the French Enlightenment published between 1751 and 1772 – contained nearly no entries on people. Why? The authors wanted to remind readers that innovation evolves on its own, rather than being created by a handful of powerful people.

These days, though, leaders are viewed as the creators of innovation. But really, innovation can flourish without top-down creation. Take leadership in business. Hugely influential CEOs like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg are granted nearly godlike powers for their innovation and success. So much so that, when Steve Jobs died in 2011, many people assumed that Apple would simply go under without him.

Money and the internet are evolutionary phenomena.

Most of us take for granted that the internet belongs to nobody in particular. It is neither controlled by monopolizing companies nor governments. So when it comes to money, which today is created and issued solely by governments through central banks, why do so many of us assume that it’s always been a government monopoly? In fact, money was once free to develop much in the way the internet does today.

Money gradually emerged among traders, and wasn’t always controlled by rulers. Take Sweden, which established a free banking system in the nineteenth century. During this time, several banks – the central bank among them – competed to issue their own banknotes. This system worked remarkably well and not a single bill-issuing bank went out of business.

Want to see all full key ideas from The Evolution of Everything?

Key ideas in The Evolution of Everything

More knowledge in less time

Read or listen

Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.

Find your next read

Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.

Shortcasts ^New

We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.

What is The Evolution of Everything about?

The Evolution of Everything (2015) argues that the phenomenon of evolution – gradual change without goal or end – reaches far beyond genetics. Evolution happens all around us in economic markets, our language, technology and customs, and is what’s behind nearly all changes that occur in these fields.

Best quote from The Evolution of Everything

The way in which these streams of human culture flow is gradual, incremental, undirected, emergent and driven by natural selection among competing ideas.

—Matt Ridley

Who should read The Evolution of Everything?

Liberal thinkers
Anyone curious about the power and beauty of evolution outside biology

About the Author

Matt Ridley is the author of several bestselling books including The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves, Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters and The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature. Ridley writes for The Times and the Wall Street Journal and is a member of the UK House of Lords.

Categories with The Evolution of Everything

Science History Society & Culture

Books like The Evolution of Everything

The Red Queen

Matt Ridley

Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature

And Why It Flourishes in Freedom

A Radical New History of Life

The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters

A Brief History of Culture, Sex, War and the Evolution of Us

Six Innovations that Made the Modern World

How Play Made the Modern World

Six Steps to Unlock Your True Motivation, Harness Your Willpower, and Get Out of Your Own Way

How We Evolved to Have Reason, Consciousness, and Free Will

27 min

4.0

The Science of Happily Ever After

Ty Tashiro

What Really Matters in the Quest for Enduring Love

A Brief History of Humankind

27 min

4.4

Zero to One (New Version)

Peter Thiel with Blake Masters

Notes on Startups, or How to Build The Future

The Greek Epic on the End of the Trojan War and Achilles’ Wrath

19 min

4.5

The Rational Optimist

Matt Ridley

How Prosperity Evolves

The Desire to Know and Why Your Future Depends on It

19 min

4.5

A Crack in Creation

Jennifer A. Doudna and Samuel H. Sternberg

Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution

22 min

4.7

The Extended Phenotype

Richard Dawkins

The Long Reach of the Gene

Banish forgetfulness forever

Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown. Here’s How.

Using the Brain to Understand and Treat Fear and Anxiety

Climate, Disease, and the End of an Empire

Make It Easy to Get the Right Things Done

The Case For Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress

A Fantasy Novel About the Choices That Lead to a Life Well-Lived

How to Stop Struggling and Start Living

The Logic of Human Destiny

Why one of the best science thinkers alive says viruses are essential for life

Transforming Self-Sabotage Into Self-Mastery

Effective Discipline for Children 2-12

17 min

3.9

The Evolution of Money

David Orrell and Roman Chlupatý

From ancient Greece to the digital era

The Evolution of Human Sexuality

A Guide To Spiritual Enlightenment

The Science of Synchronicity and How Your Choices Shape Your World

16 min

4.2

The Curious History of Dating

Nichi Hodgson

From Jane Austen to Tinder

30 min

4.0

On the Origin of Species

Charles Darwin

By Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life

23 min

4.7

How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age

Dale Carnegie

Time-tested advice for the digital age

A Simple Strategy to Grow a Remarkable Business in Any Field

17 min

4.4

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind

T. Harv Eker

Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth

22 min

4.3

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Stephen R. Covey

Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

19 min

4.7

Change Your Brain, Change Your Life

Dr. Daniel G. Amen

The Breakthrough Program for Conquering Anxiety, Depression, Obsessiveness, Anger, and Impulsiveness

14 min

4.2

The Little Book of Common Sense Investing

John C. Bogle

The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns

12 min

4.4

Abundance

Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler

The Future Is Better Than You Think

24 min

4.3

Love More, Fight Less

Gina Senarighi

Communication Skills Every Couple Needs

14 min

3.9

The Greatness Mindset

Lewis Howes

Unlock the Power of Your Mind and Live Your Best Life Today

A Neuroscientist Explores the Power and Potential of Our Lives.

The Fight to Master Our Greatest Opponent

22 min

4.4

Start With Why (New Version)

Simon Sinek

How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

A Hunter-Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century

Heather Heying and Bret Weinstein

Evolution and the Challenges of Modern Life

18 min

3.8

People ❤️ Blinkist

Sven O.

It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.

Thi Viet Quynh N.

Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.

Jonathan A.

Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.

Renee D.

Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.