Henry Plotkin

Evolutionary Thought in Psychology (eBook, PDF)

A Brief History

• Format: PDF

Produktbeschreibung

Evolutionary Thought in Psychology: A Brief History traces the history of evolutionary thought in psychology in an accessible and lively fashion and examines the complex and changing relations between psychology and evolutionary theory. * First book to trace the history of evolutionary thinking in psychology from its beginnings to the present day in an accessible and lively fashion. * Focuses on the rise of evolutionary theories begun by Lamarck and Darwin and the creation of the science of psychology. * Explains evolutionary thought's banishment by behaviorism and cultural anthropology in the early 20th century, along with its eventual re-emergence through ethology and sociobiology. * Examines the complex and changing relations between psychology and evolutionary theory.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Jossey-Bass
• Seitenzahl: 184
• Erscheinungstermin: 8. Mai 2008
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9780470775400
• Artikelnr.: 38198270

Autorenporträt

Henry Plotkin is Professor of Psychobiology at University College London. He is the author of Darwin Machines (1994), Evolution in Mind (1997) and most recently The Imagined World Made Real (2002)."

Inhaltsangabe

Preface ix
CHAPTER 1 CURIOUS HISTORIES 1
CHAPTER 2 BEFORE DARWIN 9
Preliminaries 10
Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck 20
Herbert Spencer 24
CHAPTER 3 PSYCHOLOGY BORN AND THE DARWINIAN REVOLUTION 28
The New Science of Mind 28
The Darwinian Revolution 33
Darwin's Immediate Successors 38
Early Psychology in the United States 44
CHAPTER 4 THE NEAR DEATH OF DARWINISM IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES 48
Evolution after Darwin 48
Behaviorism Takes Hold in Psychology 53
The Rise of Cultural Anthropology 62
CHAPTER 5 AN EXCEPTIONAL CASE 70
The Fundamental Problem 71
A New Factor in Evolution 77
Evolutionary Epistemology 83
Fall and Decline 88
CHAPTER 6 LESSONS TO BE LEARNED: ETHOLOGY AND SOCIOBIOLOGY 90
Classical Ethology 91
Sociobiology 105
CHAPTER 7 CONTEMPORARY EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY 123
Evolutionary Theory from 1959 124
Necessary Precursors in the Main Discipline 129
Evolutionary Psychology Reborn 134
Which Side is Bringing Science into Disrepute? 148
A Natural Science of Culture 154
CHAPTER 8 FUTURE PROSPECTS 158
References 162
Index 166

Rezensionen

"Henry Plotkin is unique among academic psychologists in his giftfor lucid and provocative exposition; in this book, his latestexploration of evolutionary thinking in psychology, he delivers asuperbly crafted historical portrait of his own discipline: hetells us why Darwinian psychologists think as they do, and what wecan expect from the felicitous new alliance of psychology withbiology and the social sciences." Frank R. Wilson, StanfordUniversity School of Medicine

"In the 19th century, Darwin's theory of evolution wasinitially integrated into the new science of psychology by pioneerssuch as Lloyd Morgan, George John Romanes, and James Mark Baldwin.But in the 20th century it was as if their efforts had been wasted;a self-names 'science' that insisted on ignoringconscious experience itself, as well as any of its determinantsthat might be of direct or indirect genetic origin, took overacademic departments of psychology. But Plotkin compellinglydescribes how 21st century psychology, which will be aboutconsciousness as well as the brain, will probably incorporatefindings from ethology, sociobiology, and evolutionary theory(including ideas about 'selfish' genes)...amust-read." David J. Murray, Queen's University

"This book is a true reflection of its title, a history ofevolutionary thought within psychology, building on Darwin'soriginal ambition to extend his theory to a science of the humanmind. It runs through the eclipse of this thinking by behaviourismand its return in the last 20 years in the various forms ofevolutionary psychology. A very readable introduction to thefield." Scientific and Medical Network Review, Summer2005

"Plotkin gives an erudite and engaging account of theintellectual currents that influenced the relationship betweenpsychology and evolutionary thought over the past 100years.....Interspersed throughout are interesting anecdotes,colorful descriptions of personalities, and accounts of twists offate that affected careers and influenced the history ofpsychology....For any psychologist interested in the history ofideas -and how intellectual currents, politics and chance eventscan affect scientific paradigms-it is a must read. It's lastingvalue is that it provides a lucid and well-documented hisotry ofthe intellectually shameful exculsion of evolutionary thought inpsychological theory during most of the 20th century. Thankfully,that exclusion is being remedied in the 21st century." PersonnelPsychology, Summer 2005

`This is science writing of a high order, and I hope this bookhas the wide readership it so strongly merits.' Michael Ruse,Journal of the History of the Behavioural Sciences, Autumn2005