Rethinking Evolutionary Psychology

Dr Andrew Goldfinch is a Research Associate at the Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science, London School of Economics. He has degrees from London and Cambridge Universities. His PhD is from the London School of Economics, where he has taught for several years.

• Introduction 1. Evolutionary Psychology As A Paradigm 1.0. Introduction 1.1. Evolutionary Theory, With An Emphasis On Natural Selection And Adaptation 1.2. The Possibility Of Psychological Adaptations 1.3. Empirical Adaptationism 1.4. Inference From Empirical Adaptationism To Massive Modularity 1.5. Methodological Adaptationism 1.6. Metatheory For Psychology And The Behavioural Sciences 1.7. Public Policy Agenda 1.8. Conclusion 2. Subverting The Paradigm 2.0. Introduction 2.1. Levels Of Selection 2.2. Environment Of Evolutionary Adaptedness 2.3. Behavioural Flexibility 2.4. Developmental Complexity and Robustness 2.5. Psychological Adaptations As Modules 2.6. The Failure To Infer Massive Modularity From Empirical Adaptationism 2.7. Methodological Objections 2.8. Metatheory Or Marketing? 2.9. Policy And Popularisation Dangers 2.10. Conclusion 3. Evolutionary Psychology And Heuristics 3.0. Introduction 3.1. Heuristics In Science 3.2. Heuristics In Evolutionary Psychology 3.3. The Two Research Strategies In Tandem 3.4. Heuristics For Identifying Adaptive Problems 3.5. Heuristics For Identifying Adaptive Solutions 3.6. Testing Predictions 3.7. Methodological Challenges Revisited 3.8. Conclusion 4. Unbundling And Reframing Evolutionary Psychology 4.0. Introduction 4.1. Streamlining Evolutionary Psychology 4.2. The Challenge Of Adaptationist Explanation Revisited 4.3. Evolutionary Psychology In The Evolutionary And Behavioural Sciences 4.4. Conclusion 5. Restructuring The Debate 5.0. Introduction 5.1. Focusing On Explanation: The Fundamental Interpretative Mistake 5.2. Towards A Streamlined Evolutionary Psychology 5.3. A New Subversion 5.4. The Need For Evolutionary Psychology As A Heuristic Project 5.5. Conclusion 6. Conclusions References