Evolutionary Psychology: The Science of Human Nature

Having been tickled by Google Alert that my name had been mentioned in the comments at Pharyngula (P. Z. Myer's blog), I took a quick look. Just a few comments for now:

1) I became an evolutionary psychologist when studying the behavioral ecology of Microtus pennsylvanicus got boring. Those cute little field voles got boring because their ethology is relatively simple. Human ethology is a lot more interesting, mostly because it is a lot more complex. Should we not try to study it because it is more complex? Or because it might not jibe with some people's political preconceptions?

2) I assign Gould & Lewontin's "spandrels" paper to my students in evolutionary biology, along with various criticisms of it. I also assign Eldredge & Gould's "punk eek" paper and Gould and Vrba's "exaptation" paper (along with close to three dozen others, not to mention the entire Origin of Species, 1st. ed.). I also give them chunks of George William's 1966 classic, Adaptation and Natural Selection, so that they will know exactly how "onerous" the concept of "adaptation" actually is.

3) Here's the definition of "adaptation" I use:

An evolutionary adaptation is any heritable phenotypic character whose frequency of appearance in a population is the result of increased reproductive success relative to alternative versions of that heritable phenotypic character.

4) Here are the criteria I believe are most useful when one is attempting to determine if one is dealing with an "adaptation":

Qualification 1: An evolutionary adaptation will be expressed by most of the members of a given population, in a pattern that approximates a normal distribution;

Qualification 2: An evolutionary adaptation can be correlated with underlying anatomical and physiological structures, which constitute the efficient (or proximate) cause of the evolution of the adaptation;

Qualification 3: An evolutionary adaptation can be correlated with a pre-existing evolutionary environment of adaptation (EEA), the circumstances of which can then be correlated with differential survival and reproduction; and

Qualification 4: An evolutionary adaptation can be correlated with the presence and expression of an underlying gene or gene complex, which directly or indirectly causes and influences the expression of the phenotypic trait that constitutes the adaptation.

To me, it seems reasonable that if one can apply those to a specific human behavior, one can make arguments about its evolutionary derivation. Would anyone disagree?

As for the ridiculous idea that evolutionary psychology only deals with sex, has anyone making such a claim actually read a textbook on the subject? Here are several:

Human Evolutionary Psychology

Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind (4th Edition)

Evolution and Human Behavior, 2nd Edition: Darwinian Perspectives on Human Nature

Evolutionary Psychology: The Science of Human Nature

[Full Disclosure Notice: The fourth title is indeed by Yours Truly.]

If you haven't, then please do so, and then we can discuss these questions.

While we're on the subject, Part II of Evolutionary Psychology: The Science of Human Nature (on the ethology of between-group behavior in humans) is coming out in May. My next project is an introductory textbook in evolutionary biology, entitled Evolutionary Biology: The Darwinian Revolutions, again in two parts. Part I (due out in September) is The Modern Synthesis and Part II (due out next May) is The Evolving Synthesis.

After that (if I live that long) will be On Purpose: The Evolution of Design by Means of Natural Selection (won't there be some fireworks when that comes out?), in which I present one of the core arguments for The Metaphysical Foundations of the Biological Sciences, in the spirit of E. A. Burtt's The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Physical Science. Should be fun!

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As always, comments, criticisms, and suggestions are warmly welcomed!

--Allen

John S. MacNeill, Jr.

John S. MacNeill Jr. passed away on January 19, 2010, at Cortland Regional Medical Center, Cortland, New York, just five days short of his 83rd birthday. During his last years, he persevered through increasing complications of diabetes.

John was born on January 24, 1927, in Weehawken, New Jersey, the son of John S. MacNeill Sr. and Margaret Stalee MacNeill. After attending a number of different schools growing up, he graduated from Homer Academy, Homer, New York, in 1944. Upon graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy at the age of 17 and served his tour of duty during the remaining months of World War II in the Pacific theater. Following the war, he earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Cornell University in 1950 and married “the girl next door,” Elizabeth “Betty” Hazzard.

After living and working in several locations throughout New York State, John and his growing family settled in Homer, New York. He then started his own civil engineering and surveying firm and subsequently joined a number of professional organizations. Participation in Cortland Rotary Club led to many rewarding years working with international exchange students, who knew him affectionately as “Papa John.” He and his wife, Betty, traveled all around the world visiting former exchange students and their families. John was proud of his Scottish heritage and took pleasure in being the drum major for the Mohawk Valley Frasers Bagpipe Band for many years, along with his wife Betty (tenor drum), son Allen (announcer), daughters Billie Jean (snare drum) and Claudia (tenor drum), and grandchildren (Aurora, Conall, and Adam MacNeill, highland dancers).

John is survived by his wife of nearly 60 years, Elizabeth Hazzard MacNeill, their son, Allen (Leah) MacNeill of Ithaca, NY; their daughters, Billie MacNeill of Homer, and Claudia (Jerome) Caretti of Morrisville, NY; a brother, Robert (Sue) MacNeill of Walton, NY; a sister-in-law, Joyce MacNeill of Homer; ten grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by a brother, Arthur MacNeill, of Homer.

Contributions in John MacNeill’s memory may be made to the Cortland Rotary Club, P.O. Box 5248, Cortland, NY 13045, or the charity of one’s choice. Email to: CNY MacNeills

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The Darwinian Revolution To Be Shown at Cornell

There will be a free public showing of The Darwinian Revolution video series at 4 PM on Tuesday 24 November 2009 in the large classroom (room 3330) of the Tatkon Center in Balch Hall. This presentation will take place on the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's Origin of Species, and is part of Cornell's celebration of the Darwin Bicentennial. The host of the video series, Cornell evolutionary biologist Allen MacNeill, will be on hand at the presentation to discuss the videos and answer questions about evolutionary biology in general, and about The Darwinian Revolution video series in particular.

The Darwinian Revolution is a series of six videos addressing the content and history of the theory of evolution. Produced by Cornell's CyberTower program and hosted by evolutionary biologist Allen MacNeill, the six-part series includes an overview of evolutionary biology, a history of the concept of evolution in western civilization, a brief consideration of Lamarck's theory of evolution via the inheritance of acquired characteristics, a detailed look at Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection, a brief exploration of Mendel's theory of particulate inheritance and its role in the origins of the "modern evolutionary synthesis", and a look forward at the future prospects for evolutionary biology. The series was videotaped at the Museum of the Earth in Ithaca, New York, and features interviews with museum director and paleontologist Warren Allman and Cornell historian of science William Provine.

This public showing of The Darwinian Revolution is free and open to the general public. It is cosponsored by Cornell's CyberTower program, in cooperation with the Museum of the Earth and Cornell's Tatkon Center as part of this year's celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin's Origin of Species.

The Darwinian Revolution video series can also be viewed online here. For more information about the video series, go here.

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As always, comments, criticisms, and suggestions are warmly welcomed!

--Allen

Evolution: The Darwinian Revolutions

Long-time readers of this blog will know that every summer I teach an introductory evolution course for non-scientists at Cornell. This year the focus of the course will be somewhat different. In honor of the bicentennial of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his monumental book, On the Origin of Species..., we will be focusing on the impact of Darwin's concept of evolution by natural selection, both on the sciences and on society as a whole.

Darwin's theory of evolution is the most revolutionary idea ever entertained by the human mind. It fundamentally alters our perception of reality. In profound and unsettling ways the theory of evolution changes our understanding of who we are, where we come from, why we do the things we do, and where we might be going. It does this by making us look carefully and dispassionately at the world around us, asking questions and seeking answers in the things we can observe.

This summer we will explore Darwin's theory and the impact that it has had on the sciences and on human society. Here is the syllabus for the course:

EVOLUTION: THE DARWINIAN REVOLUTIONS
BIOEE 2070 / HIST 2870 / STS 2871
Cornell University Six-Week Summer Session – Summer 2009

PREREQUISITES: None - Intended for non-science majors with an interest in evolutionary theory

CREDIT HOURS: 3 (does not count toward evolution distribution requirement in biological sciences)

CLASS TIMES: Mondays and Wednesdays 6-9 PM, Monday 22 June 2009 to Wednesday 29 July 2009

CLASS LOCATION: Lectures in Morrison Room, Corson-Mudd Atrium. Discussions TBA in class.

COURSE FORMAT: The format for each class will be a two-hour interactive lecture/discussion, in which the professor outlines the major concepts, followed by a one-hour discussion section in which all participants present their interpretations and opinions of the concepts and readings under consideration. Participants will also have the opportunity to make full-length presentations of their original work. Grades will be based on the quality of three essays, due at the end of each two-week segment. Students may also opt to do one essay and a research paper (see description and point scores, below).

GRADE BASED ON: Attendance and participation in lecture and section, plus combined letter grade on three essays (suggested length = 4 to 8 pages) or one essay and one research paper (maximum length = 20 pages), for a total of 100 points (electronic/email submission encouraged, but not required)

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Evolution is the founding concept of the science of biology. This course examines evolution in historical and cultural contexts. Aims of the course include understanding the major issues in the history and current status of evolutionary theory and exploring the implications of evolution for culture and human psychology. Issues range from controversies over mechanisms of evolution in natural populations to the philosophical implications of evolutionary theory.

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Darwin, Charles (E. O. Wilson, ed.) (2006) From So Simple a Beginning: Darwin's Four Great Books. W. W. Norton, ISBN: 0393061345 (hardcover, $39.95), 1,706 pages. Available online here

Goldschmidt, Tijs (1998) Darwin's dreampond: Drama in Lake Victoria, MIT Press, ISBN: 0262571218 (paperback, $27.00), 274 pages.

Jabloka, Eva & Lamb, Marion J. (2006) Evolution in Four Dimensions: Genetic, Epigenetic, Behavioral, and Symbolic Variation in the History of Life, MIT Press, ISBN: 0262600692 (paperback, $19.95), 474 pages.

Raup, David M. (1991) Extinction: Bad genes or bad luck? W.W. Norton, ISBN: 0393309274 (paperback, $14.95), 228 pages.

Ruse, Michael (2004) Darwin and design: Does evolution have a purpose? Harvard University Press, ISBN: 0674016319 (paperback, $19.50), 371 pages.

OPTIONAL TEXTS:

Darwin, Charles (1892) The autobiography of Charles Darwin (Nora Barlow, ed.), W.W. Norton, ISBN: 0393310698 (paperback, $14.95), 365 pages. Available online here

COURSE PACKET:

All of the course packet readings listed below are available from the course website. The password to access the course packet is “evolutioncp” (without the quotation marks). Alternate weblinks are provided for your convenience.

NOTE: Students will not be required to read all of these articles. Your instructor and/or TA will tell you which articles you are responsible for.

Ayala, F. (1970). Teleological explanations in evolutionary biology. Philosophy of Science, vol. 37, pp. 1–7.

Behe, M. (2002) Intelligent design as an alternative explanation for the existence of biomolecular machines. Unpublished manuscript.

Cosmides, L. & Tooby, J. (1997) Evolutionary psychology: A primer. Center for Evolutionary Psychology. Available online here

Dembski, W. (2005) What every theologian should know about creation, evolution, and design. Orthodoxy Today. Available online
here

Dobzhansky, T. (1973) Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution. The American Biology Teacher, vol. 35 (March 1973), pp. 125–129. Available online
here

Eldredge, N. and Gould, S. J. (1972) Punctuated equilibria: An alternative to phyletic gradualism. In Schopf, T. J. M. (1972) Models in Paleobiology, Freeman, Cooper, & Co., pp. 82–115. Available online here

Gould, S. J. And Lewontin, R. C. (1979) The spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian paradigm: A critique of the adaptationist programme. Proceedings Of The Royal Society of London, Series B, vol. 205, no. 1161, pp. 581-598. Available online here

Huxley, T. H. (1860) Letter to Charles Kingsley, Available online
here

Jenkin, F. (1867) Review of Origin of Species. The North British Review, June 1867, vol. 46, pp. 277-318.
Available online here

Kaviar, B. (2003) A history of the eugenics movement at Cornell. Unpublished manuscript.

MacNeill, A. (2004) The capacity for religious experience is an evolutionary adaptation for warfare. Evolution and Cognition 10:1, pages 43 to 60.

MacNeill, A. (2005) Natural selection, sparrows, and a stochastic God. Available online here

MacNeill, A. (2006) Vertical polygyny in modern America: An evolutionary perspective. Available online here

Mayr, E. (1974) Telological and teleonomic: A new analysis. Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, XIV, pages 91 to 117.

Mayr, E. (1982) The growth of biological thought. Harvard University Press. Chapters 12 & 13, pages 535 to 627.

Pinker, S. (2004) The evolutionary psychology of religion. Freedom From Religion Foundation. Available online here

Wegner, D. (2002) The illusion of conscious will. MIT Press: Cambridge. Chapter 3, pages 63 to 98.

PART ONE: THE ORIGIN OF EVOLUTIONARY THEORY
The science of evolutionary biology began with the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. It is one of the most important books ever written and should be read by any person who wants to understand who we are, where we come from, and why we are here (and how we know).

PART TWO: THE MODERN SYNTHESIS
Darwin's theory was accepted by most scientists of his generation within a surprisingly short time. Then, within just one more generation, it fell out of favor, replaced by genetic theories of evolution suggested by the rediscovered work of Gregor Mendel. Then, in another generation, the pendulum swung the other way, and Darwin's ideas were integrated with Mendel's and codified in the "modern synthesis."

PART THREE: MACROEVOLUTION, EVO-DEVO, AND BEYOND
Evolutionary theory has exploded in the fifty years since the "modern synthesis" was proclaimed. Sociobiology, punctuated equilibrium and new ideas about evolutionary psychology, genetic engineering, macroevolution, speciation…these are just a few of the directions that evolutionary theory and biology have expanded in the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st.

I would like to invite anyone who has found this blog interesting to take this course, or follow along with us by keeping up with the course materials posted at the course website. Either way, you will find your mind being stretched and your view of reality challenged. What better way could one spend a few summer evenings?

See you this summer!

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As always, comments, criticisms, and suggestions are warmly welcomed!

--Allen

The Answer (Now, What Was The Question?)

For what it’s worth (and because I have been rather sneeringly referred to as an atheist at other websites), here is some information that readers of this blog may find interesting.

I am a Quaker. That is, I am a member of the Ithaca Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends. The actual name for “Quakers” is "Friends". When they started out (in England in the 17th century) they tended to refer to themselves (rather grandly, IMHO) as the “children of the light” and/or “the publishers of truth”. However, by the time they had come to America they had settled on the Society of Friends. “Quakers” was a somewhat derogatory name given to them by their opponents in Cromwell’s England.

It is important to note that there are two different kinds of Friends, known as “programmed” and “unprogrammed” (sometimes referred to as “evangelical” and “traditional”, respectively). The programmed/evangelical friends are a lot like Methodists: they meet on Sundays in buildings that look like churches (but generally without steeples), there is a minister who gives a sermon, there is often a choir, and the congregation sits auditorium-style facing the front of the “church” where the pastor speaks. Following the service there is generally “fellowship time”, with coffee and snacks in the fellowship room, etc. Herbert Hoover and Richard Nixon were both brought up in “programmed” Friends meetings.

The other kind (the original kind, the kind invented by the founder of the Friends, George Fox, and the kind of meeting that I belong to) meets in silence in a simple (often very plain) meeting house, with no minister, no choir, no hymns, no sermons, indeed no “program” at all. Everybody waits in silence for the “gathering of the spirit”, usually all facing each other in a roughly circular (or square) arrangement of chairs or short pews. Sometimes a person in meeting is “moved” to stand up and speak (or, much more rarely, to sing). This almost never happens until at least a half hour of silence has gone by. No one comments while they speak, although people sometimes join in with a familiar song. When they have finished speaking, they sit back down and all wait for the silence to “settle”. I’ve never been at a meeting at which more than a half dozen people spoke, and I’ve been at plenty at which nobody spoke for the entire hour (and sometimes much longer than that, as some special meetings have no set time limit).

In an unprogrammed/traditional meeting such as the one in Ithaca there are no officials except for the Clerk of the Meeting, whose responsibility it is to keep people informed of when and where meetings are happening, and to take notes at “meetings for worship with attention to business”, which generally happen once a month. The Clerk also “breaks” meeting by catching people’s eyes and turning to the people next to them to shake hands. At the “rise of meeting” the Clerk makes announcements and invites members of the meeting to share concerns. There is also a Treasurer, who keeps accounts, but is not considered to be an “officer” and is not elected. Both the Clerk and the Treasurer have assistants, and are usually chosen annually by the committee for ministry and oversight (which used to be referred to as the elders, a now archaic term). I was for many years a member of this committee.

Probably not surprisingly to some at this website, I am known to some of the older members of the Ithaca Meeting as a “minister”; that is, someone who is often moved to speak. I haven’t done so in about a year, but that’s not unusual, especially for our meeting. Some meetings have a tradition of recording and drawing attention to ministers, but this is rare and becoming more so among “traditional” Friends meetings.

Although as one might expect there are a number of Cornell and Ithaca College professors in our meeting, the overwhelming majority of our members are not professional academics. Rather, they are working people from the town; everything from secretaries to lumberjacks to farmers. Quite a few of these, as it turns out; Ithaca is “centrally isolated” and is known for having a "cow college" on east hill...and yes, I grew up in the middle of farm country and spent some of my summers and vacations in college milking cows (and I'm a proud graduate of Cornell's "Ag school", class of '69).

Membership in a traditional Friends meeting is gained by petition to the committee on ministry and oversight, who appoints a “clearness committee” for the prospective member. Clearness committees work together with members to “come to clearness” on particular issues. People can ask for a “clearness committee” to join the meeting, get married “under the care of the meeting” (FWIW, the Ithaca meeting has been recognizing marriages between same-sex couples “under the care of the meeting” for almost thirty years), decide on taking a particular job, pursue a particular academic degree, get divorced (yes, it happens, although not often) or whatever is of concern to them. Anyone can ask to join a meeting, and there is no prohibition against people becoming members of a Friends meeting while remaining full members of other churches or religions. Indeed, there are a number of agnostics and atheists in our meeting (but, as I stated earlier, I’m not one of them). Because of this process, we say that a person becomes a Friend by “convincement”, not conversion, and that “convincement” must come from within, not from a minister or the group.

Perhaps the most noticeable difference between “traditional” Friends and other religious groups is the total lack of a creed or “confession of faith”. Instead, we maintain a collection of written “Queries and Advises”, which are periodically read and revised by clearness committees. We feel that it is each person’s responsibility to come to whatever “measure of the light” we can. All decisions (and I mean ALL decisions) are made by pure consensus. There are no votes taken at any Friends meetings, including those held with attention to business. This means that some decisions take a generation or more to be reached, but when they are finally arrived at, everyone in the meeting has agreed to the decision and will back it wholeheartedly.

Friends are one of the three historic “peace churches” (along with the Brethren and Mennonites). To be a Friend means never to participate in war or the preparation for war in any form whatsoever. I was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War, and remain one to this day.

This doesn’t mean that Friends are pacifists, however. Quite far from it; Friends are very active in our “peace witness”, often placing ourselves between combatants and doing humanitarian work around the world. The Friends service group, the American Friends Service Committee, received the 1947 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of Friends worldwide, for our corporate work for peace and reconciliation.

Friends also don’t proselytize (indeed, there is a heavy but unspoken prohibition against doing so), and so the foregoing should be considered to be informational only. If you would like to learn more about the Society of Friends, I recommend this website, and here is the website for the Friends meeting I attend.

“Dearly beloved Friends, These things we do not lay upon you as a rule or form to walk by, but that all, with the measure of light which is pure and holy, may be guided: and so in the light, walking and abiding, these may be fulfilled in the Spirit, not from the letter, for the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life.”

– Given forth at a General Meeting of Friends in the Truth at Balby in Yorkshire, in the ninth month 1656, from the Spirit of Truth to the Children of Light

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As always, comments, criticisms, and suggestions are warmly welcomed!

--Allen