PhD candidate, LSE.
Dates of Visit: 07/11/2012 – 05/07/2013
Project Description: Of all the research programmes in the evolutionary behavioural sciences, evolutionary psychology is unique in the scale and intensity of criticism it faces, from both philosophers and social scientists, forming a powerful impression that, no matter its purported benefits, evolutionary psychology is a discredited research programme, an outdated research programme, something one can legitimately dismiss. I contend that those who dismiss evolutionary psychology wholesale fail to entitle themselves to that dismissal. I seek to champion a streamlined evolutionary psychology, one that navigates away from unnecessary controversy, one that better reflects the actual practice of evolutionary psychology on the ground, and one that doesn’t overshadow what’s valuable about the programme.