An Earth-like planet lacking an axial tilt would have incredibly little variation in climate and therefore few global weather patterns. There could still be some forms of air and water circulation because the planet is still spinning, but their movement would not be accompanied by the significant changes in heat and moisture levels that can drive catastrophes like hurricanes. Intense sunlight would also affect all cultures globally, and the concept of a "year" would be highly theoretical (those navel-gazers keeping track of the stars) rather than grounded in a seasonal cycle essential to the material wellbeing of all. The length of day and night is absolute in this world. There are no long winter nights, no recurring sense of having more time in the light then less then more again. I think change might be viewed as more linear than cyclical. 188
Perhaps people would tend to be more afraid of change because they are not used to it, or perhaps they would be less afraid of change because they are not conditioned to the highly predictable one of seasons.
Changes in the magnetosphere when poles shift have huge impacts on geology and evolution. If the axis never "wobbles", does it just flip every so often? In a world where all points on the globe receive the full intensity of sunlight, this could have especially deleterious effects. When the poles shift, there is momentary exposure to greater radiation since the planet loses the protective field of the magnetosphere. Our last pole reversal here on Earth was about 800k years ago. In terms of the evolution of hominids, this likely occurred before the first <PERSON> but soon after Homo erectus and Homo ergaster began to harness fire and build simple machines. I don't know of any anthropologist who thinks the pole shift had any role in the development of civilization, but this is fiction so it's fun to imagine. What if that pole shift on Earth contributed to the speciation of Homo sapiens due to mutations from increased radiation? Maybe in this tilt-free Earth you'll find multiple, closely related intelligent species, with biological differences contributing to different cultures in the absence of climactic variation. 350