[lbo-talk] evo psych: balderdash

andie nachgeborenen andie_nachgeborenen at yahoo.com
Wed May 4 11:06:36 PDT 2005


Any scientific theory that tries to "justify" anything has already crossed the line into ideology. There is a lot of bad ideological ES or SB. But there si good scientific work taht explains rather than justifies. It doesn't justify, excuse, warrany,s show to be good, natural, inevitable, or unchangeable any aspect of human behavior, say male preferendce for multiple sex partners, to explain it in evolutionary terms. Thsi is self-evident.

--- Jim <from_alamut at yahoo.com> wrote:
> The real problem with evolutionary psychology is
> that
> it tries to justify current human behavior by
> projecting it backwards into pre-history.
>
> jim
>
> --- andie nachgeborenen
> <andie_nachgeborenen at yahoo.com> wrote:
> >
> > Too vague a criticism of too vague a target.
> > Contrary
> > to the received view on the left, it's not crazy
> to
> > think that the fact that we are biological
> > organisms,
> > specifically primate with the central nervous
> > systems
> > of hunter-gatherers, is likely to do some
> > explanatory
> > work in accounting for our behavior. Whether
> certain
> > evolutionary theories help explain certain
> > behaviors,
> > you have to look case by case at the explanation
> of
> > the traits in question.
> >
> > Obviously in saying this I do not sign up for the
> > view
> > that capitalism, hierarchy, patriarchy, sexism,
> and
> > war are encoded in our genes, thus natural,
> > unchangeable, good, justifiable, and to be
> > encouraged.
> > However it will be so taken by some here.
> >
> > jks
> >
> > --- Dwayne Monroe <idoru345 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> > > One of the remarkable things about this list is
> > that
> > > it attracts a vast gallery
> > > of eyeballs -- many more *lurkers* than regular
> > > participants.
> > >
> > > So I'm sure someone out there -- perhaps an evo
> > > psych enthusiast so enraged by
> > > this attack on their field they knocked the
> > > neolithic man action figure from
> > > their desk -- is readying a learned reply.
> > >
> > >
> > > Still...
> > >
> > >
> > > I became convinced evo psych was not quite the
> > > nutritious meal its boosters
> > > claimed when, several years ago, I watched a PBS
> > > program on the topic.
> > >
> > > A group of evo psych adepts sat around a table
> > being
> > > interviewed by a PBS worthy.
> > > It was a televised orgy of academic confidence.
>
> > > They were convinced, they were,
> > > that before too long, every aspect of human
> > behavior
> > > would be explained using evo
> > > psych research techniques (which, to my
> > > non-specialist ears, sounded a lot like
> > > *once upon a time, pre-historic people did X,
> > > therefore, modern phenomena Y*
> > > repeated over and over again).
> > >
> > > When it comes to evaluating theory, I'm old
> > > fashioned: if you claim to explain
> > > everything, I begin to suspect that perhaps,
> > you're
> > > explaining nothing.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > .d.
> > > ___________________________________
> > >
> >
>
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> >
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>
> Jim Davis
> Ozark Bioregion, USA
>
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