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From computers to cultivation: reconceptualizing evolutionary psychology
Louise Barrett1, Thomas V Pollet2, Gert Stulp3
1Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge Lethbridge, AB, Canada.
Frontiers in Psychology
|August 28, 2014
Summary
Evolutionary psychology is a mainstream computational theory, not a true alternative. Embodied, embedded, and enactive cognition offer a more promising, evolutionarily informed framework for understanding human psychology.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Evolutionary Psychology
- Philosophy of Mind
Background:
- Evolutionary theorizing's role in psychology is debated, focusing on its value and rigor.
- Prominent evolutionary psychology (Santa Barbara school) uses a computational theory of mind, proposing functionally specialized modules (massive modularity hypothesis).
Purpose of the Study:
- To critically evaluate evolutionary psychology's position within cognitive science.
- To propose embodied, embedded, and enactive cognition (e-cognition) as a more promising alternative framework.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual analysis of evolutionary psychology and computational theories of mind.
- Argumentation for the merits of e-cognition and the extended mind hypothesis.
Main Results:
- Evolutionary psychology is presented as a mainstream computational theory, with arguments for domain-specificity often lacking strong empirical support.
- E-cognition, particularly cognitive integration and the extended mind hypothesis, offers a viable alternative to standard computational approaches.
Conclusions:
- Evolutionary psychology, as currently framed, does not offer a significant advancement over mainstream computational theories.
- E-cognition provides a more comprehensive framework for human psychology by integrating social and historical processes, fostering interdisciplinary links.
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