"Science is built with facts as a house is with stones--but a collection of facts is no more a science than a heap of stones is a house."

- Jules Henry Poincare
 
 

Major Sociological Theories

Conflict theory - focuses on groups (or categories of people) competing for power or limited resources

• social problems = outgrowths of these conflicts

• why is there competition for power?
• individuals do not follow their "group" interests
• emphasis on competition = good

• social problems = malfunctions of system

• difficulty in determining what societal needs are
• difficulty in determining when system is failing
• difficulty in determining when societies die
• emphasis on systems = good

standard social science model (Cosmides & Tooby)

• humans have general cognitive & emotional abilities
• no evolutionary basis to social phenomena
• human mind = blank slate (tabula rasa)
• no grand theory

Evolutionary Theory

• evolution and religion

"Our Lutheran roots compel us to search for the truth …. Prepare to be boldly challenged and gently encouraged to join us in the search for the truth." (PLU web page)
 

Why evolution in this class?

• unifies the vast array of empirical results in social science, connects to biological sciences

- Theodosius Dobzhansky
 
 

• evolution = process of change in living organisms as a result of natural selection

points for discussion:

• did Darwin discover evolution?
• 3 key components of natural selection
• 2 main problems adaptations address
• Hamilton's inclusive fitness theory
• Williams' criteria for adaptation
• adaptations we'll focus on = evolved psychological mechanisms

- Jerome Barkow

• evolutionary theory and genetic determinism
• are adaptations immutable?
• are individuals walking inclusive fitness calculators?
• are current adaptations optimally designed?

• does evolutionary theory imply that people are consciously trying to spread their genes?
• byproducts of adaptations

Summary:

• evolution gave rise to our complex psychological adaptations
• natural selection, as characterized by inclusive fitness theory = key driver to evolution of these adaptations
• individuals execute psychological adaptations, consciously or unconsciously
• adaptations increased inclusive fitness of our ancestors, but may or may not be adaptive currently
• genes = fundamental unit of evolution
• some abilities are byproducts of adaptations

nature/nurture
 
 

Sociological and Evolutionary Theories (part 2)
 
 

for discussion:

• group selection

other types of selection

sexual selection - evolution through:

1) besting same sex competitors

More on adaptations

• humans have many evolved psychological mechanisms, focused on particular adaptive problems in specific domains
• we only appear to have general capacities
• learning is not a general capacity

• Garcia's rats: could learn to avoid food when paired with a negative response, but couldn't learn to avoid particular noises/lights when paired with same negative responses

• adaptations that allow rats to detect bad food but no mechanisms to detect noises or lights linked with sickness
• some things are easier to learn than others
• abilities that are easiest and most natural are those shaped by natural selection
• additional characteristics of psychological adaptations (Cosmides & Tooby)
• develop w/o conscious effort or formal instruction
• used w/o any conscious awareness of their underlying logic

point for discussion:

• environment of evolutionary adaptedness (EEA)
• social problems as a mismatch between EEA and current environments

 similar adaptations across species imply:

• developed when the different species last shared a common ancestor, or
• developed multiple times for different species in response to similar selection pressures (EEAs)

• human line evolved over last 1 million+ years
• only 1% of that time (last 10,000-15,000 years) in settled communities w/ agriculture or industry
• no psychological adaptations evolved in the context of agr./industrial societies (too recent)
• foraging (hunter/gatherer) societies
• gathering fruits, vegetables, nuts, insects
• hunting game
• nomadic
• small populations (bands, probably no more than 200 persons)

Role of environment, situation, and context in expression of psychological adaptations:

1) historical environment led to adaptations

2) ontogenetic, or developmental, context influences when adaptations kick in

3) immediate situational context determines when many mechanisms come online

• different environments stimulate expression of different adaptations to different degrees, hence cross-cultural variability

Proximate vs. ultimate explanations

• proximate - immediate causes
• ultimate - causes on an evolutionary timescale

Testing evolutionary theory

• broad outlines very well established
• lower level theories = where change occurs

We'll focus on universal psychological adaptations - "human nature," not behavioral genetics (links between genes and individual differences in adaptations)
 

Evolution and free will

• adaptations give fair amount of flexibility, but also
• circumscribe the range of possibilities

Naturalistic fallacy - determining what "ought" to be by observing what "is"
 
 

Summary:

• many domain-specific psychological adaptations
• learning is not a general capacity
• other characteristics of adaptations = develop w/o conscious effort, used w/o awareness of logic
• environment of evolutionary adaptedness
• no adaptations evolved in agricultural/industrial societies
• proximate vs. ultimate levels of explanation
• environment activates adaptations
• free will
• naturalistic fallacy