Selectionism, metaphors and cultural practices: Would there be a third kind of selection at the cultural level?

This paper is a reflection on the idea according to which there is a kind of selection dedicated to cultural practices. I will argue that this proposal was based upon a metaphorical extension of natural selection to the cultural dimension. Next, I will present the inconsistencies in Skinner’s works resulting from this strategy as well as the problems of explanatory models based on analogies and metaphors. Finally, I will consider an alternative approach to the selection of cultural practices in which the contingency remains the central unit of analysis, and that does not rely on metaphors and analogies or on a third kind of selection. Consequences of adopting such approach will be explored.