the mit press evolutionary psychology as maladapted psychology nov 2007

[...]... expect their claims to pass muster as psychology; but my focus will be on the evolutionary credentials on offer I share their evolutionary vision As Huxley challenged the evolutionary credentials of Spencer’s theory, I will mount an evolutionary challenge to evolutionary psychology As Spencer and Huxley shared an evolutionary vision, I share with evolutionary psychologists an evolutionary perspective As. .. This was balanced by the recognition of the importance of “sympathy” that bonds humans together, as when we care for the suffering or happiness of others The allusion was to Adam Smith’s The Theory of the Moral Sentiments (1759), which he thought had laid bare what was at the root of our moral sensibilities It was supposed to give some traction to the thought that evolution tended to improve the character... addressed by the poor laws since the return was exactly what was deserved The solution was to abolish the poor laws He concluded, in reflecting on the implications for the broader population, “If they are sufficiently complete to live, they do live, and it is well they should live If they are not sufficiently complete to live, they die, and it is well they should die” (1851, 414–415) Huxley, by contrast, had... engagement with evolutionary psychology puzzling, she also thought the project was important She also has contributed in many places to the content, often pressing me to sharpen the point, or at least to make it coherent I hope in each case I at least met the latter demand Without her encouragement and interest, I might easily have wandered off into more esoteric concerns MIT Press has been very encouraging... regarded the arguments 8 Introduction and the facts as less rather than more sound He pointed out crucially that the “immoral sentiments” likewise have a natural origin Evolution is as indifferent as is the Victorian God to human suffering The thief and the murderer,” he says, “follow nature just as much as the philanthropist” (ibid., 80) In connection with the Darwinian principle of “survival of the fittest,”... Algorithms The evolutionary explanations offered by evolutionary psychologists are a means to an end, where the end is the reform of psychology I’ve already noted that this move has a venerable heritage, with Herbert Spencer as one who offered a reformed psychology, and William James as one who would have functionalist psychology conform to evolutionary visions Most of the recent advocates of evolutionary psychology. .. emotions, must reflect our evolutionary history and the prevalence of natural selection The mind is no different than any other complex feature The mind is an adaptation That, at least, is “Darwin’s gift.” It lies at the heart of the evolutionary agenda for evolutionary psychology Its advocates intend it to be what Thomas Kuhn thinks of as a paradigm shift, a dramatic reorientation in the way we conceive... way they tie the psychological data to their biological interpretation If there were only general-purpose learning rules, they reason, then all the specific content would be attributable to “cultural” influences The rules, if wholly general, could provide no specific content The social environments into which we are born would provide the needed “content” for social judgment If, on the other hand, there... their social agendas and over their explanations of human capacities Spencer’s harsh vision was strikingly different from Huxley’s own progressive commitment to the working poor and educational reform Constitutionally, Huxley was averse to speculation, emphasizing the human reality rather than the social ideal Both were indeed naturalists, but Huxley’s was a leaner naturalism Evolutionary psychology, too,... form of evolutionary naturalism, committed to the idea that natural processes are responsible for the evolution of human capacities These are commitments I share Human beings, like other organisms, are the products of evolution Our psychological capacities are evolved traits as much as our gait, dentition, or posture Furthermore, Human beings, like other organisms, exhibit traits that are the products . J. Lamb, 2005 The Evolution of Morality, Richard Joyce, 2006 Evolutionary Psychology as Maladapted Psychology, Robert C. Richardson, 2007 Evolutionary Psychology as Maladapted Psychology Robert. This was balanced by the recognition of the importance of “sympathy” that bonds humans together, as when we care for the suffering or happiness of others. The allusion was to Adam Smith’s The Theory. describe these as evolutionary preten- sions, because they are not explicitly argued for so much as assumed. They are part of the rhetoric. I take the pretensions seriously, exploring the various avenues