Evolutionary psychology is a theory that states
psychological mechanisms evolve casually as a survival skill to over come the
'hostile forces of nature'. The theory
can make predictions based on what would be advantageous to survival, thus
describing the teleology of human nature, with physical and psychological
mechanisms that help to achieve this goal for the longest time possible. Evolutionary psychology gives a description
of human nature, with strong results. For example fear and snakes. By developing the psychological state of
fear, we greatly enhance our survival chances; we feel fear when we believe our
life is under threat and this causes us to develop reactions and intentionality
that guide us to avoid these situations or at least focus in order to avoid
fatalities. Once we developed fear and
experienced poisonous snakes, we inductively learnt to react with fear in the
presence of snakes, thus we have a natural fear of snakes even though this
danger is far more reduced today, with anti-venoms and such, it is still a part
of our nature to fear snakes.
Psychological mechanisms develop by maximising what
will optimise our survival, which will be definitive of our future natural
dispositions, but something has changed in our environment which has caused
defiance to certain developed psychological mechanisms. This defiance took manifest in feminism (for
example).
One psychological mechanism which both male and
females have developed is attraction. In the largest survey of its day, looking
into the habits of what males and females find attractive in the other sex, (buss,
D.M. (1994a). the strategies of human mating, American scientist, 82, 238-249),
this survey was done over six continents, over 10,000 subjects, from Nigeria to
Japan and showed that women rank financial resources 150% more important then
males in finding a long term partner attractive. This would make sense as a male who can
provide an abundance of food for this female and possible child will increase
their survival prospects. Women who
attracted good hunters would have been more successful in surviving and
breeding then women who didn't and thus the psychological state of attraction
is mechanically joined with a successful male. In short resource access causes
attraction in women.
But given our now advanced science and
agriculture, do women still rely on males to provide in the same way? For
example the sex disqualification act of 1919 allowed women to work and divorce men
and as we have grown, women now have a strong presence in the work place and
gain highly powerful and respected jobs.
It seems analogous to the fear of snakes, a evolutionary lag in
attraction is still present but is changing.
The natural environment hasn't changed but the
social environment has and not necessarily in a evolutionary beneficial form,
the idea of a women earning more then the male, at least 50 years ago and
before, may have been off-putting to other possible mates as they would be
emasculated, yet the feminist force has continued pushing against evolutionary
mechanisms.
Feminism can be seen as a reaction to evolutionary
psychological mechanisms in the sense that the dependence on the males is
caused by out-dated social structures, and in this sense feminism is
progressive, but a more profound transition has occurred in this defiance to
psychology. Evolutionary influences give
rise to automaton women or, as Simone de Beauvoir would have said,
psychological mechanisms are responsible for women's state of immanence, and so
there is an existential shift, affirming being and not automaton instinct,
allowing choice instead of doing what is required to survive and as women
becomes more successful it seems reasonable that attraction to wealth, will be
displaced to other factors, perhaps creating a turn towards intelligence, wit
and honesty.
But in summary, our sociability is moving to point
that is causing a choice based on being and not reflex survival mechanisms, re-defining psychological states that will affect change in human nature. It is interesting that the more independent we
are of mother nature, the more independent humans are, becoming existentially
authentic in choice, allowing decisions to be made by self reflection and
not mere mechanisms. It shows we are moving
away from what Darwinian evolution distilled in our physiological and psychological make up and entering a
phase which is unknown to us.
T.C.R.Moon
The Philosophy Takeaway 'Gender' Issue 26
The Philosophy Takeaway 'Gender' Issue 26
