Epistemological Dimensions of Evolutionary Psychology
As psychology and philosophy arose as answers to the eternal question of how the mind works, evolutionary psychology has gained ground over recent years as a link between cognitive-behavioral and natural-science theories of the mind. This provocative fiel
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Thiemo Breyer Editor
Epistemological Dimensions of Evolutionary Psychology
Editor Thiemo Breyer a.r.t.e.s. Graduate School for the Humanities University of Cologne Cologne Germany
ISBN 978-1-4939-1386-2 ISBN 978-1-4939-1387-9 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4939-1387-9 Springer New York Heidelberg Dordrecht London Library of Congress Control Number: 2014955339 © Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. Exempted from this legal reservation are brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis or material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the Copyright Law of the Publisher’s location, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Permissions for use may be obtained through RightsLink at the Copyright Clearance Center. Violations are liable to prosecution under the respective Copyright Law. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
To Olli, companion in rites of passage
Preface
Evolutionary Psychology (EP) is currently one of the most fascinating fields of interdisciplinary research on the human mind, brain, and behaviour. According to EP, the brain is an organ whose computational capacities have been selected for because they provided advantages of survival in the course of evolution. Cognitive abilities are seen as the results of specific reactions to evolutionary pressures, which have shaped our ancestors: ‘Natural selection shapes domain-specific mechanisms so that their structure meshes with the evolutionarily stable features of their particular problem domains. Understanding the evolutionarily stable feature of problem domains—and what selection favoured as a solution under ancestral conditions—illuminates the design of cognitive
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