A critique of evolutionary psychology

Abstract

Evolutionary psychology is a relatively new paradigm and an interdisciplinary one that has engendered considerable debate, conflict and controversy among scholars of various disciplines. The purpose of this paper is to examine the sources of this conflict and to articulate the contested issues. Emerging from methodological and inferential differences among the relevant disciplines is the question of whether or not falsifiability need be a prerequisite for theories to be considered ‘scientific.’ Although universal consensus may substitute for falsifiability, the assumptions underlying the evolutionary psychology paradigm are neither falsifiable nor do they command universal consensus. Assumptions addressed in this paper include the nature of natural selection, the unit of selection, sources of variation, and the structure of the evolved human brain. Furthermore, the paradigm suffers from inherent contradictions: (a) the claim by evolutionary psychologists that knowledge of ultimate causes is necessary to a...