16 - studying the evolution of behaviour Flashcards
John Maynard Smith quote
“attempts to import biological theories into sociology, from social darwinism of the 19th century to the race theories of the 20th, have a justifiably bad reputation.”
Darwin on human behaviour
origin of species - “psychology will be based on a new foundation, that of the necessary acquirement of each mental power and capacity by gradation”
descent of man-
“the difference in mind between man and the higher animals, great as it is, is certainly one of degree and not kind”
more important quotes on powerpoint
e.g. difference in mental powers of the two sexes
progressice evolution
- evolution as progress through a sequence of stages from simple to complex
- Not how evolution works, but a popular interpretation post-Darwin
- very long history in west going back to Aristotles great chain of being
- implies modern societies can be ranked on an evolutionary scale
Spencer - “the advance to simple to complex” “in the evolution of society in respect alike of its political, toys religious and its economical organisation”
Is darwinian evolution progressive?
No (evolution = diversification)
But Darwin inconsistent using hierarchal/racist language elsewhere:
descent of man
“clear traces of his descent from some lower form”
“the mind of one of the lowest savages”
eugenics
- Frances Galton (1812-1911) Darwins cousin and founder of eugenics
- strongly influenced by Darwins writing on inheritance of mental ability
“eugenics is the science which deals with all influences that improve the inborn qualities of a race; also with those that develop them to the utmost advantage” - Galton, 1904
- believed in strong inheritance of mental characteristics e.g. intelligence
- argued for mental superiority of men vs women, europeans vs africans
- feared without intervention, lower classes would ‘outbreed’ gentry
- led to involuntary sterilisation programmes in place in >30 US states
ethology
sociobiology (1)
- emphasised functional significance of animal behaviour (i.e. adaptations)
- aimed to integrate the social sciences into the modern evolutionary synthesis
- argued for the value of a ‘genes eye view’ in understanding evolution
sociobiology (2)
- ‘There systematic study of the biological basis of all social behaviour’ (Wilson, 1975)
- Ideas not really controversial when applied to animals - behavioural ecology
- but inflammatory when applied to humans
E O. Wilson
“human beings inherit a propensity to acquire behaviour and social structures, a propensity that is shared by enough people to be called human nature”
sociobiology backlash
- sociobiology study group establish
- EO Wilson accused of racism and sexism
- criticised by colleagues
- assaulted by demonstrators at conference
- “these theories provided an important basis for the enactment of sterilisation laws and restrictive immigration laws by the United States….. and also for the eugenics policies which led to the establishment of gas chambers in Nazi Germany”
reductionism and determinism
“sociobiology is a reductionist, biological determinist explanation of human existence. Its adherents claim.. that the details of present and past social arrangements are the inevitable manifestation of the specific action of genes”
Rose et al (1984), not in our genes
NOT inevitable - we can study how genes and environments interact to affect behaviour
prejudice
In The Selfish Gene, Dawkins wrote, ‘I am saying how
things have evolved. I am not saying how we humans
morally ought to behave’
Prejudice not inevitable - but we must be aware of the potential for ideas to be misused
storytelling
Imaginative stories have been told for ethics, religion,
male domination, aggression, artistic ability, etc. All one need do is predicate a genetically determined contrast in the past and then use some imagination, in a Darwinian version of Kipling’s ‘Just So Stories’.
Rose et al
storytelling not inevitable - but evolutionary hypothesis for human behaviour difficult to test
