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40 - Historians and the Evolutionary Approach to Human Behavior

from Part IX - Applying Evolutionary Principles

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 March 2020

By
Gregory Hanlon
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

Darwinian approaches to human behavior are inherently historical; recounting the origin and development of Homo sapiens and the increasing complexity of human societies over many millennia is second nature to evolutionary psychologists and behavioral ecologists. Admitting the existence of biologically based human universals entails some considerable adjustment for historians, who are forced to retool by learning more about various social and biological sciences. Most historians have specialized interests by region, period, and topic; it is rare enough for practitioners to study the same problem across longer periods or in a different locale.

This contribution will try to speak to both communities of scholars, on the off chance that practicing historians will wish to rethink their problems afresh from the perspective of human nature. Historians often assume that all of our practices are subject to constant change, where we can apply a date to observable shifts in behavior.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Behavior , pp. 489 - 506
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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