Alas Poor Darwin: Arguments Against Evolutionary Psychology

Product Description

Today, genes are called upon to explain almost every aspect of our lives, from social inequalities to health, sexual preference & criminality. Based on Darwin's theory of evolution & natural selection, Evolutionary Psychology with its claim that 'it's all in our genes' has become the most popular scientific theory of the late 20th century. Books such as Richard Dawkins's The Selfish Gene, Edward O. Wilson's Consilience & Steven Pinker's The Language Instinct have become bestsellers & frame the public debate on human life & development: we can see their influence as soon as we open a Sunday newspaper. In recent years, however, many biologists & social scientists have begun to contest this new biological determinism & shown that Evolutionary Psychology rests on shaky empirical evidence, flawed premises & unexamined political presuppositions. In this provocative & ground-breaking book, Hilary & Steven Rose have gathered together the most eminent & outspoken critics of this fashionable ideology, ranging from Stephen Jay Gould & Patrick Bateson to Mary Midgley, Tim Ingold & Annette Karmiloff-Smith. What emerges is a new perspective on human development which acknowledges the complexity of life by placing at its centre the living organism rather than the gene.