Scientific Strengths and Weaknesses of Evolutionary Psychology - Essay Example

Scientific Strength and Weaknesses of Evolutionary Psychology Table of Contents I. Introduction ……………………………………………………….…… 3 II. Strength of Evolutionary Psychology ………………………….….... 3 III. Weaknesses of Evolutionary Psychology ……………….………… 6 IV. Conclusion …………………………………………………………….. 8 References …………………………………………………………………….. 9 - 10 Introduction It is the desire of many people to know and understand how the brain works that contributes a lot to the formation of evolutionary psychology. Considering that science was not available in the past, a lot of people have exerted effort in developing untested hypothesis and theories through the process of pure observation. Evolutionary psychology is “an approach to psychology wherein the general knowledge and principles of evolutionary biology have been applied in the research study of the human mind structure.” (Cosmides & Tooby, 1997) Considering that the study of biology is significantly connected with the study of psychology, a lot of philosophers and psychologists are convinced that combining both could enable them to develop a more scientific explanation behind the study of the human minds. In the process, psychologists and scientists have been supporting the progress of the evolutionary psychology. Despite many people who believes in the purpose of evolutionary psychology, there are also several critiques who questions its scientific validity. For the purpose of this study, the researcher will gather relevant information and research studies in support with the discussion of the strength and weaknesses of evolutionary psychology. Strength of Evolutionary Psychology Particularly the process of evolution has two main components known as ‘chance’ and ‘natural selection.’ Dawkins (1986) and Williams (1966) explain that the natural selection allows the evolutionary process to be able to acknowledge a more complex functional organization into the phenotype of the species. In the book written by George William (1966) Adaptation and Natural Selection, he discussed the issue on the importance of ‘adaptationist approach’ in terms of examining the reasons behind the ability of human mind to adapt with its environment. In line with this matter, James (1890) announces that the application of an evolutionary approach could enable us to learn more information from what our own instinct fails to determine. In the process wherein psychologists and philosophers are able to distinguish and realize the fact that: (1) natural competence really exists; and (2) the human brain is one example that is characterized by such a complex competences, we are able to develop a possible theory behind the design of the human mind. Adaptations are important since it could enable the psychologists and philosophers to solve a problem. (Williams, 1966) Dawkins (1986) also gave emphasis that through the principles of adaptation approach, evolutionary biologists and psychologists could be able to find a more concrete ideas and solution to the problems that may arise behind the study of the human mind structure. Prior to the evolutionary psychology, philosophers and scientists strongly agree that the human mind resembles a ‘blank state’ wherein our mind is free from any memory or experience before we are even born. (Curtiss, 1997) Likewise, Locke also suggests that we gain our reasoning and knowledge through our own personal experiences. (Hauptli, 2008) In line with the old theories used in the study of the human understanding or psychology which includes the application of the following: (1) the Cause and Effect; (2) Resemblance and Contrast; and (3) the Contiguity in time or place (Falchenberg, n.d.); the applyication of evolutionary biology in the study of human mind enables the evolutionary psychologists to acknowledge the conflicts that exists between the traditional theory behind the human mind such as those that Darwin has suggested long time ago. For example, in the absence of combining the study of psychology with biology, one could simply conclude that we learn from our own past experiences and that our social interaction with other people contributes a lot to the development of our personality. When a person is hungry, one can tell based on his/her past experience that he/she is hungry. This kind of explanation is not sufficient enough to explain why the person is experiencing hungery. On the other hand, when we combine the study of psychology with that of biology, we may conclude that the brain has neurons that are interconnected with one another throughout the human body which enables our brain to process both the internal and external signals that a person may receive any time. In case a person is hungry, it is possible for us to explain that the sensory receptor in the stomach directs the signal to the brain so that the person knows that he/she is hungry. As a result of the evolution behind the study of psychology, alternative and new theories based on the existing theories and findings on psychology, evolutionary biology, and neuroscience is formed in order to replace the the our old perception on how the human mind is logically structured. (Cosmides & Tooby, 1997) Another strength of the evolutionary psychology lies behind the environmental factors we have in the past and present times. (Cosmides & Tooby, 1997) During the olden days, things around us were much simplier. For this reason, many people tend to believe simple explanations without any scientific evidence that could justify their beliefs. In today’s world, people are more educated making them unable to easily accept general facts without any scientific explanation behind a set of theories. Integrating our past experiences and the recent biological and psychological studies, we are able to develop a more acceptable psychological theories that could explain the general structure of the brain as well as the basic human behavior. Weaknesses of Evolutionary Psychology There are a lot of weaknesses behind evolutionary psychology. One of the most generally acknowledged weaknesses of the evolutionary psychology is the fact that the study of evolution does not recognize behaviour genetics whereas evolutionary psychologists strongly believes that most of the human behaviours are unavoidable because of hereditary or genes. (Tooby & Cosmides, 1990) In other words, evolutionary psychologists are using genetics as the basis for the reasoning behind the human behaviour and cognitive development. The validity of such belief is questionable since several studies show that even in the study of identical as well as the fraternal twins, no different person will have the same behaviour or even their personal cognitive ability. (Harris, 2006; Saudino et al., 1995) Aside from genetic determinism, there is also a misalignment in the understanding behind the concept of panadaptionism approach. In general, evolutionary psychology believes that the human mind is made up of domain mechanisms that could enable us to behave in a certain way towards the environment such that it does not include the theory behind the human behavioural evolution. (Cosmides & Tooby, 1987; Symons, 1992, 1987) A lot of psychologists and philosophers are also criticizing the unfalsifiability of evolutionary psychology. Basically, when we talk about evolution, it could mean that there is no scientific evidence behind the facts being presented to the public such as in the case of Darwin’s evolution of life. (Gould, 1992; Morris, n.d.) From the word ‘evolution’ means that no single person has ever seen the real process on how something has evolved in the society. For this reason, the use of evolutionary approach in any particular study is always being questioned by the critics. (Milner & Maestro, 2002; Wells, 2002) With regards to the levels of explanation given by the evolutionary psychology, simply taking about the evolutionary history of biological sciences could negatively affect the levels of validity of the reasoning behind a theory or concept. (Gould, 1992) For example: Darwin’s evolutionary theory behind the ‘male competition’ wherein two male animals are fighting over food as well as its significance in the theory of men. Although men compete with other individuals in terms of acquiring sufficient monetary value to satisfy his needs, men in general does not literally fight like the animals do. In line with the theory behind evolution, there is a higher probability that the reasoning generated behind a theory could result to a lot of confusion. Lastly, evolutionary psychologists believe that people in our society are unchangeable by nature. In line with such belief, it would also mean that the social as well as political changes are not accepted by the evolutionary psychologists. (Hagen, 2002) We all know that political and social changes are inevitable due to a lot of uncontrollable circumstances within and outside our country. For this reason, it is difficult to accept the logical reasoning behind the evolutionary psychology. Conclusion There are a lot of scientific evidences that could prove the useful contribution of evolutionary psychology in the study of human minds. In line with the evolutionary psychologists effort in solving a lot of misconception behind the study of the human mind, these group of people have significantly improve the theories of other psychology researchers’ and philosophers’ past studies. However, despite the effort of human psychologists to convince the people of its worth, there are still a long list of weaknesses which makes the evolutionary psychology a subject to many criticizers. In order to prevent and minimize the criticism behind the evolutionary psychology, professional philosophers and psychologists should work together in order to minimize the gap between the acceptable and unacceptable theories behind the practice and study of the evolutionary psychology. *** End *** References: Cosmides, L., & Tooby, J. (1997). Evolutionary Psychology: A Primer. Retrieved January 25, 2008, from Center for Evolutionary Psychology: http://www.psych.ucsb.edu/research/cep/primer.html Cosmides, L., & Tooby, J. (1987). From Evolution to Behavior: Evolutionary Psychology as the Missing Link. in Dupre J. (ed.) The Latest on the Best: Essays on Evolution and Optimality. MA: MIT Press. Curtiss, S. (1977). Genie: a Psycholinguistic Study of a Modern Day Wild Child. NY: Academic Press. Dawkins, R. (1986). The Blind Watchmaker. NY: Norton. Falchenberg, R. (n.d.). History of Modern Philosophy. Retrieved January 25, 2008, from http://www.humanitiesweb.org/human.php?s=i&p=c&a=b&ID=15 Gould, S. J. (1992). The Confusion over Evolution. NY: The New York Review of Books. pp. 47 - 54. Hagen, E. (2002). Why Do Some People Hate Evolutionary Psychology? Retrieved January 25, 2008, from The Evolutionary Psychology FAQ: http://www.anth.ucsb.edu/projects/human/epfaq/hate.html Harris, J. R. (2006). No Two Alike: Human Nature and Human Individualtiy. Norton, W.W. & Company, Inc. Hauptli, B. W. (2008). Introduction to Locke. Retrieved January 26, 2008, from http://www.fiu.edu/~hauptli/IntroductionToLocke.html James, W. (1890). Principles of Psychology. NY: Henry Holt. Milner, R., & Maestro, V. (2002). Intelligent Design? A Special Report from Natural History Magazine. Retrieved January 25, 2008, from http://www.actionbioscience.org/evolution/nhmag.html Morris, H. M. (n.d.). The Scientific Case Against Evolution. Retrieved January 26, 2008, from Institute for Creation Research: http://www.icr.org/home/resources/resources_tracts_scientificcaseagainstevolution/ Saudino, K., McGuire, S., Reiss, D., Hetherington, E., & Plomin, R. (1995). Parent Ratings of EAS Temperaments in Twins, Full Siblings, Half Siblings, and Step Siblings. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 68(4):723 - 733. Symons, D. (1987). If Were All Darwinians, Whats the Fuss About? in Crawford C.B., Smith M.F., & Krebs D.L. (Eds) Sociobiology and Psychology. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Symons, D. (1992). On the Use and Misuse of Darwinism in the Study of Human Behavior. in Barkow J., Cosmides L., & Tooby J. (eds) The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and the Generation of Culture. 137 - 159. Tooby, J., & Cosmides, L. (1990). On the Universality of Human Nature and the Uniqueness of the Individual: The Role of Genetics and Adaptation. Journal of Personality , 58:17 - 67. Wells, J. (2002). Elusive Icons of Evolution: What do Darwins Finches and the Four-Winged Fruit Fly Really Tell Us? Retrieved January 24, 2008, from Evolution: Science and Belief: Intelligent Design? A Special Report reprinted from Natural History Magazine: http://www.actionbioscience.org/evolution/nhmag.html Williams, G. (1966). Adaptation and Natural Selection. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Read More