Evolution Flashcards
What type of era did Darwin live in?
Darwin lived in an era in which capitalism was triumphant in his home country (the UK).
19th century
What two big problems did the new form of social organization (capitalism) bring with it?
Rapid change: Of course, change was always happening, but in the 19th century change became rapid enough that it was noticeable in people’s lifetimes.
Division into social classes
How were social classes divided in Darwin’s time? What were their political affiliations? What did this division create?
The landed aristocracy:
These people had been in the ascendant for a long time, but found their power and status being slowly eroded. Their natural political party was the Tories.
The middle classes:
These were businessmen and professionals. They were the big winners in capitalism. Their natural political party was the Whigs.
The poor:
These people did most of the actual work. They had no political representation, because they were not allowed to vote.
-This class system created a lot of tension – uprisings by the poor - attempts to justify the status quo by the richer classes
The fundamental driver for Darwin (and most Whigs) was what?
the idea of progressive change
Who had previously discussed progressive change as a part of their theories/ideologies (5)?
Empedocles (a presocratic philosopher not mentioned in your text) had a theory of evolution by natural selection.
Heraclitus believed that change was the only constant in the universe.
Aristotle was keenly aware that the forms of animals changed during development, and that the anatomy of animals had a role in fitting them for the environment.
Thomas Aquinas, in his efforts to reconcile classical knowledge with the Bible, acknowledged that humans are made of the same materials as non-humans and that physical events have causes.
Lamarck and Erasmus Darwin had theories of evolution in the decades before Charles Darwin.
What different approach did Darwin take between his two most popular books? What were they?
Though Darwin very much emphasized the importance of natural selection in The Origin of Species, he was much more eclectic in The Descent of Man. In The Descent of Man he argues more about evolution happening through many mechanisms (not just natural selection)
What additional causes of progressive change did Darwin address in The Descent of Man?
Sexual selection
Group selection
Cultural evolution
Inheritance of acquired characteristics
Spontaneous changes in inheritance
Direct effects of environmental changes on a species
What is sexual selection? What is group selection?
Sexual selection - not reproduced for survival - reproduced for sexual attractiveness to mates (e.g., large antlers which inhibit survival but enhance sexual selection - e.g., male peacock’s large tail to attract mates - e.g., male elephant seals’ size to fight off other males)
Group selection - traits evolve because they benefit the group in some way - idea was popular until the 1960’s but then was dismissed (because of cheaters) and is just now being rehabilitated - good for explaining human evolution (groups
What were the implications that Darwin’s view on evolution had for his understanding of psychology?
One of these implications is that individual differences in both anatomy and behaviour are important drivers of evolution.
Evolution only works if these differences exist and are at least partly heritable.
Not just physical traits that help/harm survival, also psychological / behavioural traits (seagulls that push their own eggs out of the nest to look after a large wooden egg) - supernormal stimulus
What future psychologists would use the assertion of Darwin’s evolution?
Francis Galton and James McKeen Cattell
What does sexual selection say about why there are differences in behaviour between the sexes? What problem was there is some of these assertions?
Because the two sexes both compete for access to mates, but compete in somewhat different ways, one can expect the behaviour of the two sexes to be different.
Darwin did give voice to some opinions in this regard that would today be considered sexist.
What is the difference between adaptation and adapting?
Adaptation: An adaptation is a heritable characteristic that has spread through a population because it helps its bearers survive and/or reproduce.
Both Darwin himself and recent evolutionary psychologists assert that many psychological propensities (Darwin calls them general instincts) are adaptations of this sort.
Adapting: Darwin also recognized that psychology is not fixed by inheritance, that people can adapt to current circumstances by using various abilities to solve current problems, even if those problems are different from the ones that were prevalent when people evolved.
Learning is particularly important in this regard.
What were Darwin’s views on the differences between humans and animals? What 3 traits distinguish them from each other?
We have articulate speech (which was also noted by Hobbes).
Because our cognitive abilities are so flexible, we do a lot of adapting in circumstances where other animals would make use of their evolved adaptations.
Third, and maybe most important, we have morality.
Many modern-day successors of Darwin claim that he was an extreme individualist. Who is one of these and what is the name of his book?
Richard Dawkins (The Selfish Gene)
Was Darwin actually an extreme individualist as claimed by people like Richard Dawkins?
Darwin very explicitly repudiated this view.
He asserted that people are highly adapted for group living. Some of his general instincts (see above) were social in nature.
He thought that such instincts could evolve through group selection; that is, because our ancestors experienced intense competition between groups, there was a big advantage for groups in which people were more prosocial.
Some current thinkers say this cannot happen, because selfish individuals in prosocial groups will reap the advantages without paying the costs, but there is a refutation: the social instincts include emotions like anger at cheaters.
People who do not enjoy praise and fear will tend to wind up living alone, and therefore will likely perish.
