Evolution

Question 1

Start of evolution research

Answer 1

• The botanist Lamarck devised a complete theory of evolution before Darwin, in 1809
• He thought that a complexifying force and an adapting force existed, that animals strive for improvement - animals change over time
• He is often cited for the inheritance of acquired characteristics - e.g., that giraffes have long necks because they stretch for food

Question 2

Start of Darwin’s research

Answer 2

He read Malthus’ (1798) “Essay on the Principle of Population”, realising that more animals are born than can survive:

Populations grow until they run out of resources

Then there is perpetual struggle between individuals for these resources

Question 3

Speciation

Answer 3

Over time, small adaptive changes in each species accumulate

As they change, species will be more or less adapted to their environment

After a long time, animals from two separately-evolving groups can no longer produce fertile offspring

A new species has arisen

We are not more or less evolved than chimpanzees, we evolved differently

Question 4

Evolution and religion

Answer 4

Christianity’s Great chain of being (scala naturae) put humans 3rd:
1. God
2. Angels
3. Humans
4. Animals
5. Plants
6. Rocks

But evolution makes humans equal to all animals and plants

“Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution” (Dobzhansky , 1973)

Question 5

lorenz geese

Answer 5

Imprinting If Lorenz was the first thing that baby geese saw, they would follow him

This is imprinting, a strong form of learning

Question 6

Darwinian Psychology - Language

Answer 6

Our anatomy seems highly adapted for language

Languages evolve, some die out

If the capacity to acquire language is innate (nativism, e.g. Chomsky ), specific languages aren’t innate

Question 7

Darwin sexual selection

Answer 7

Inter-sexual selection: One sex prefers members of the other sex (e.g., peacock’s tail

Intra-sexual selection: Competition within a sex (usually male) for access to the other, or resources (e.g., deer’s antlers)

Biological differences such as libido, colour, aggression, and longevity may all make particular animals more likely to reproduce

Question 8

Facial expressions innate

Answer 8

Ekman(1954) found much evidence that facial expression are universal, supporting Darwin.

6 basic emotions

Further evidence comes from children born blind and deaf at birth, who have no way of mimicking facial expressions…

Question 9

WHAT FOLLOWED DARWIN

Answer 9

• Galton
  - His contributions to psychology were mostly in individual differences and intelligence testing
  * The inheritance of ‘genius’
  * Coined “nature versus nurture”
  * Father of Eugenics, making species better through selective breeding
  * From studying eminent men, Galton concluded that bodily & mental characteristics were largely inherited

LEADING TO MISMEASURE OF MAN

William James
- Holistic - should look at the whole stream of consciousness, not its elements or atoms
- Pragmatism - beliefs and ideas should be judged on their usefulness
- The adaptive function of consciousness
- The roles of instinct and choice - we have many instincts, but can override them

Freud
Useful but not due to his evidence. some validity but not in science. not falsifiable.

Scientific racism
Phrenology - Morton argued racial hierarchies through skulls

SOCIAL DARWINISM