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The Quest for Human Nature: Social and Scientific Issues in Evolutionary Psychology
Author(s) -
Caporael Linnda R.,
Brewer Marilynn B.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 122
eISSN - 1540-4560
pISSN - 0022-4537
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1991.tb01819.x
Subject(s) - nature versus nurture , determinism , evolutionary theory , evolutionary psychology , ideology , framing (construction) , reflexivity , sociology , epistemology , environmental ethics , social psychology , psychology , social science , political science , philosophy , structural engineering , politics , anthropology , law , engineering
Historically, evolutionary theory applied to human behavior has often been used to explain and justify existing social arrangements and institutions. Biological explanations of human social behavior tend to be ideologically and politically reactive. A politicized biology is an obstacle to socially responsible scientists who seek to use evolutionary theory in their work. The papers in this volume represent an attempt to recapture human evolutionary theory by framing it as an interdisciplinary, reflexive endeavor that can transcend old‐style biological determinism and nature‐nurture debates.