Evolutionary Psychology Steps into the Wayback Machine
In the “the more things change . . . “ category:
The life of man in society, just like the life of other species, is a struggle for existence, and therefore it is a process of selective adaptation. The evolution of social structure has been a process of natural selection of institutions. The progress which has been and is being made in human institutions and in human character may be set down, broadly, to a natural selection of the fittest habits of thought and to a process of enforced adaptation of individuals to an environment which has progressively changed with the growth of the community and with the changing institutions under which men have lived. – Thorstein Veblen, The Theory of the Leisure Class, VIII, pub. 1899
Veblen forms sort of a weird midpoint between the environmental determinism of Marx and the Meme ideas of Richard Dawkins, et al. While the twenty-first century thus far seems to be one of working through the effect of biology (and especially DNA) on proclivities, going back and reading how out of hand some of the Spencerian social-darwinian ideas got really justifies a lot of sympathy for the nurture-only crowd, even if you think they did go too far. It’s sometimes amazing to look back through the ages and see exactly how much people used to think was heritable. Even in Veblen (almost the c20!) there’s mention of the idea of “noble blood.” I’m still not sure if he was kidding.
As late as 1939 a Nobel laureate scientist (in New York, no less) was capable of writing: “Modern civilization seems to be incapable of producing people endowed with imagination, intelligence, and courage. In practically every country there is a decrease in the intellectual and moral caliber of those who carry the responsibility of public affairs.“ (Check out the context!)
History may be written by the winners, but it’s fascinating to look back at some of the wacky ideas that once competed for what became established orthodoxy. One wonders what we accept as universal truth now that will seem odd and frightening in a century – or what great controversies that we’ve completely forgotten.
The life of man in society, just like the life of other species, is a struggle for existence, and therefore it is a process of selective adaptation. The evolution of social structure has been a process of natural selection of institutions. The progress which has been and is being made in human institutions and in human character may be set down, broadly, to a natural selection of the fittest habits of thought and to a process of enforced adaptation of individuals to an environment which has progressively changed with the growth of the community and with the changing institutions under which men have lived. – Thorstein Veblen, The Theory of the Leisure Class, VIII, pub. 1899
Veblen forms sort of a weird midpoint between the environmental determinism of Marx and the Meme ideas of Richard Dawkins, et al. While the twenty-first century thus far seems to be one of working through the effect of biology (and especially DNA) on proclivities, going back and reading how out of hand some of the Spencerian social-darwinian ideas got really justifies a lot of sympathy for the nurture-only crowd, even if you think they did go too far. It’s sometimes amazing to look back through the ages and see exactly how much people used to think was heritable. Even in Veblen (almost the c20!) there’s mention of the idea of “noble blood.” I’m still not sure if he was kidding.
As late as 1939 a Nobel laureate scientist (in New York, no less) was capable of writing: “Modern civilization seems to be incapable of producing people endowed with imagination, intelligence, and courage. In practically every country there is a decrease in the intellectual and moral caliber of those who carry the responsibility of public affairs.“ (Check out the context!)
History may be written by the winners, but it’s fascinating to look back at some of the wacky ideas that once competed for what became established orthodoxy. One wonders what we accept as universal truth now that will seem odd and frightening in a century – or what great controversies that we’ve completely forgotten.
posted by KP | 8.9.07
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