Evolutionary psychology
Researchers: Apparent helpful behaviour is just evolved manipulation
PZ Myers Criticizes Steven Pinker’s Scientism – Pot and Kettle?
On August 6th, Steven Pinker, the well-known Psychology Professor from Harvard, had an article in New Republic entitled Science is Not Your Enemy, in which he lambasts those who decry scientists for propounding scientism. You’d expect rebuttals of Pinker to come from the likes of Wesley J. Smith who indeed took Pinker to task in an article in National Review Online, which we discussed here at UD as well. You wouldn’t expect attack from your own side, however, but that is precisely what P.Z. Myers has done on his popular anti-ID blogsite Pharyngula in a post entitled Repudiating scientism, rather than surrendering to it. Never one to mince words, PZ launches right in: When I heard that Steven Pinker had Read More ›
The social sciences of an incipient fascist state …
But why are we even asking if Darwinism gave birth to social Darwinism?
Darwinizing the experience of wonder
Pathological altruism: More trouble for Darwinism?
Evolutionary psychologist’s Sunday sermon: Blame evolution for your lack of patience and charity
Contra literary Darwinism, animal art is not really art
Next victim of anti-crackpot trend: literary Darwinism?
REFERENCE: The Smith Model, an architecture for cybernetics and mind-body/ free will/ determinism/ compatibilism analysis . . .
Since the issue of agent freedom and cause has again come up, it is worth the while to post the following summary on the Smith Model for agent cause and cybernetics, from the IOSE unit on minds etc: __________ >>(c) Of neurons, brains and minds The neuron (in its various types) is the key building brick of brain and nervous tissues: Neurons are interconnected in neural networks {added, Jun 4: cf. visualisation here}, and onward to form the brain and wider nervous system. As Christos Stergiou and Dimitrios Siganos summarise: In the human brain, a typical neuron collects signals from others through a host of fine structures called dendrites. The neuron sends out spikes of electrical activity through Read More ›
Human evolution: Are we all “running apps from Fred Flintstone’s not-very-smartphone”?
Richard Dawkins defends the idea of having a mistress and lying about it
Many felt disgust with former vice presidential candidate John Edwards for cheating on his terminally ill wife Elizabeth Edwards. In the process of his affair, Edwards fathered a child with his mistress, Rielle Hunter. Rielle is now one of the most hated women in America. But according to evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, men having mistresses is not what is immoral, but the rather the notion of monogamy (rooted in our evolved desire for faithfulness) is what is immoral. From Banishing the Green Eyed Monster by Richard Dawkins I want to raise another question that interests me. Why are we so obsessed with monogamous fidelity in the first place? …. The underlying presumption — that a human being has some kind Read More ›