Evolutionary Thought in Psychology

Evolutionary Thought in Psychology: A Brief History traces the history of evolutionary thought in psychology in an accessible and lively fashion and examines the complex and changing relations between psychology and evolutionary theory. First book to trace the history of evolutionary thinking in psychology from its beginnings to the present day in an accessible and lively fashion. Focuses on the rise of evolutionary theories begun by Lamarck and Darwin and the creation of the science of psychology. Explains evolutionary thought's banishment by behaviorism and cultural anthropology in the early 20th century, along with its eventual re-emergence through ethology and sociobiology. Examines the complex and changing relations between psychology and evolutionary theory.

Preface ix CHAPTER 1 CURIOUS HISTORIES 1 CHAPTER 2 BEFORE DARWIN 9 Preliminaries 10 Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck 20 Herbert Spencer 24 CHAPTER 3 PSYCHOLOGY BORN AND THE DARWINIAN REVOLUTION 28 The New Science of Mind 28 The Darwinian Revolution 33 Darwin’s Immediate Successors 38 Early Psychology in the United States 44 CHAPTER 4 THE NEAR DEATH OF DARWINISM IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES 48 Evolution after Darwin 48 Behaviorism Takes Hold in Psychology 53 The Rise of Cultural Anthropology 62 CHAPTER 5 AN EXCEPTIONAL CASE 70 The Fundamental Problem 71 A New Factor in Evolution 77 Evolutionary Epistemology 83 Fall and Decline 88 CHAPTER 6 LESSONS TO BE LEARNED: ETHOLOGY AND SOCIOBIOLOGY 90 Classical Ethology 91 Sociobiology 105 CHAPTER 7 CONTEMPORARY EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY 123 Evolutionary Theory from 1959 124 Necessary Precursors in the Main Discipline 129 Evolutionary Psychology Reborn 134 Which Side is Bringing Science into Disrepute? 148 A Natural Science of Culture 154 CHAPTER 8 FUTURE PROSPECTS 158 References 162 Index 166