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I've recently been embroiled in an irrational Internet debate about evolutionary psychology. ("Irrational" might be a redundant term in that sentence.) Like Stephen Jay Gould before them, egalitarian foes of ev psych consider its practitioners to be sexist throwbacks. What struck me, however, is how well feminist opponents of evolutionary psychology echo the fundamentalist opponents of evolutionary theory itself.
Ev psych is the modest idea that, like every other mammal closely related to us, humans have built-in predispositions for certain behaviors. It's not controversial when said behaviors are, say, eating sweet foods. It gets controversial real fast once the behaviors have anything to do with mating, gender roles, violence, etc.
Like Gould, opponents of ev psych are well-educated liberals who regard creationism as bunk. Like creationists, however, they make the following arguments.
Ev psych is just a theory. This ill-informed shot makes me want to produce the following bumper sticker: "Evolution: not just a fact but a theory." A theory is way more powerful and systematic than a mere fact.
Ev psych is a bunch of just-so stories with no empirical support. The inability to conduct evolution experiments in a test tube is a recurrent theme for creationists and for those opposed to ev psych. The ability of scientists to compile massive amounts of other relevant data is a distraction to be ignored.
Ev psych is Nazi. Gould said that ev psych jusitifies racism, sexism, and genocide. Jerry Falwell says that evolution theory justifies rampant amorality and socialism. Same same. —JoT |
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Board gaming was a major draw at GameStorm 2008 (Vancouver, WA) |
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