The constructionist perspective has been a fairly small voice in the recent explosion of interest in human social evolution. The scope of this interest has been broad, covering transitions from our primate ancestors to hominids, and on to modern Homo sapiens. It has included cultural change as well as the evolution of biological traits. The hard sciences of genetics, evolutionary biology, palaeontology, neuroscience and primate psychology have linked forces with anthropology, archaeology and philosophy. The consensus view is co-evolution, a synergistic interaction between biology and culture. If culture were to be ignored and mental life viewed simply as the product of innate neural mechanisms, we would have to look no further than the evolution of the brain and processes of Darwinian natural selection. However, most specialists believe that cultural innovations, passed on from one generation to another, conferred biological advantages on human groups and thereby influenced survival. It is possible that different biological capacities evolved concurrently, and this may have created an opportunity for the relatively sudden appearance of behaviour that could be culturally transmitted.

It is neither possible nor necessary for me to summarise what is known about human social evolution but I can at least attempt to place ideas about person and self in an evolutionary context. I will begin by charting a few of the key landmarks in the development of the human species and then restrict my focus to person and self.