This Special Edition features a diverse collection of articles on evolutionary psychology by proponents, critics, and scientists, with the aim to clarify the subject for everyone, from experts to the general public.
David Sloan Wilson recently spoke at a symposium on cognitive and evolutionary approaches to human culture, in which the topic of evolutionary psychology (EP) came up during the final panel discussion. One by one, the other symposium participants rolled their eyes and explained their distaste for EP to the audience.
He was not surprised, but many members of the audience must have found the disparaging remarks of the experts on the stage bizarre. Weren’t they evolutionary psychologists? What else would you call a group of people who study human culture from a cognitive and evolutionary perspective?
Welcome to the murky world of EP. It’s not just murky for the general public. It’s murky all the way up to the top. That’s why This View of Life chose to feature a number of articles on EP to clarify the subject for everyone, experts and lay public alike, which have now been brought together to form this Special Edition.
The perspectives featured in our Special Edition are more diverse than any other collection on the topic to our knowledge. We have included proponents, critics, and scientists who avoid using the label “Evolutionary Psychology”, despite the fact that they study psychology from an evolutionary perspective.
All of the articles are accessible to a broad audience and also link to the scientific literature for those who wish to learn more. Our Special Edition is therefore likely to be eye-opening for both students who are encountering the subject for the first time and experts who wish to broaden their horizons.
Click the book cover to be taken to a downloadable PDF
Table of Contents
What’s Wrong (and Right) About Evolutionary Psychology?
by David Sloan Wilson
Be Curious, Be Darwinian. Why Evolution Provides The Deepest ExplanationFor Human Behavior
by Rob Kurzban
What Is Wrong With Evolutionary Psychology? Nothing.
by Terry Burnham
Darwin In Your Brain. Four Reasons Why Evolutionary Psychology Is Controversial
by Bernard Crespi
Evolutionary Psychology Is Neither
by Jonathan Marks
All Psychology is Evolutionary Psychology
by Michael Price
What Isn’t Evolutionary Psychology?
by Dominic Johnson
Evolutionary Psychology Through A Developmental Lens
by Gabrielle Principe
“Yes, but…” Answers to Ten Common Criticisms of Evolutionary Psychology
by David Schmitt
Beyond Genetic Evolution. A Conversation With Eva Jablonka
by David Sloan Wilson
The Spandrels Of San Marco Revisited: An Interview With Richard C. Lewontin
by David Sloan Wilson
The Adapted Mind Of An Evolutionary Psychologist. A Conversation With Debra Lieberman
by David Sloan Wilson
Selection By Consequences: Recovering Skinner’s Key Insight About Learning As An Evolutionary Process
by Anthony Biglan
Why do Modern People have so Few Children?
by Lesley Newson
BBS, Brains, and the Pain of Altruism: An Interview with Barbara Finlay
by David Sloan Wilson
