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31 - Evolutionary Psychology

Thoughts on Integrating Feminist Perspectives

from Part VII - Sexual Selection and Human Sex Differences

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 March 2020

By
Maryanne L. Fisher ,
Justin R. Garcia  and
Rebecca L. Burch
Edited by
Lance Workman ,
Will Reader  and
Jerome H. Barkow
Lance Workman
Affiliation:
University of South Wales
Will Reader
Affiliation:
Sheffield Hallam University
Jerome H. Barkow
Affiliation:
Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia
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Summary

The discussion of evolutionary theory and feminist ideology has existed for decades and has been obstructed by assumptions, generalizations, misunderstandings, and omissions from both points of view. Terminology, in particular, has had important consequences for comprehension. We note, like Barkow (2006), that there is no term that accurately captures the variety of work of those applying Darwinian theory to the study of human behavior. We apply “evolutionary psychology” here as it is a prevalent term that is used currently, but it also reinforces the goal of focusing on human nature as an outcome of biological evolution (Barkow, 2006). To provide as much clarity and simplicity as possible in this chapter, we will refer to evolutionary scientists as “evolutionists” and feminist scholars as “feminists” as they were in Hrdy (1981/1999).

Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Behavior , pp. 378 - 392
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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