Evolutionary psychologists see the human mind as many domain-specific evolved instincts, not fewer
Evidence
An alternative, though perhaps complementary, view is that our big brains are full of genetically endowed cognitive abilities that have emerged via natural selection to solve the most important and recurrent problems faced by our hunter-gatherer ancestors. These problems are often thought of as relating to specific domains, such as finding food, water, mates, and friends, as well as avoiding incest, snakes, and disease. When cued by environmental circumstances, these cognitive mechanisms take in problem-specific information and deliver solutions. The psychologist Steve Pinker, for example, has long argued that we are smarter and more flexible “not because we have fewer instincts than other animals; it is because we have more.” — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success, 72
Categorization
- DEFINE: Distinguishes the massive-modularity evolutionary-psychology position from the cultural-brain view Henrich defends, useful for framing the book’s central thesis.
- XREF: connects to: Evolutionary psychology explains present psychological processes as adaptations to ancestral environmental problems. — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide: The Social…, 489; Human evolution selected for learnability and behavioral malleability, not fixedness; Evolution tuned humans to feel distinct emotions for distinct intergroup threats — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2275 (+7 more)
Broader Connections
- Human cumulative culture emerges from evolved domain-specific cognitive adaptations for social learning
#exemplifies(0.92) — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 16 - Evolution tuned humans to feel distinct emotions for distinct intergroup threats
#exemplifies(0.88) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2275 - Human minds carry epistemic-vigilance biases against being duped
#exemplifies(0.87) - Evolutionary psychology explains present psychological processes as adaptations to ancestral environmental problems.
#expands(0.85) — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide, 489 - Supernatural agency beliefs filter through evolved person-perception psychology
#exemplifies(0.85) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 104 - Cultural evolution fills in god content within evolved mentalizing constraints
#exemplifies(0.82) - Human evolution selected for learnability and behavioral malleability, not fixedness
#complicates(0.78) - Evolutionary explanations of behavior should look forward, not backward to prehistory
#complicates(0.74) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 191 - Humans can intentionally choose trust rather than inherit it as a by-product of evolution
#complicates(0.72) — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2821 - Theorizing instinct as socially produced can accidentally naturalize existing social conditions.
#complicates(0.71)