Epistemological Dimensions of Evolutionary Psychology

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiii

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2. Philosophy and Evolution

   • Michael Hampe

   Pages 1-18

3. The Broad Foundations of Adaptationist-Computational Evolutionary Psychology

   • Malte H. Dahlgrün

   Pages 19-68

4. Towards a Cognitive Philosophy of Science

   • Ulrich J. Frey

   Pages 69-88

5. The ‘Meme’ Meme Revisited

   • Alan Costall

   Pages 89-101

6. Evolutionary Psychology, Altruism, and Kin Selection

   • Robert C. Richardson

   Pages 103-115

7. Like Me: A Homophily-Based Account of Human Culture

   • Daniel Haun, Harriet Over

   Pages 117-130

8. Evolutionary Media Psychology and Its Epistemological Foundation

   • Christine Hennighausen, Frank Schwab

   Pages 131-158

9. Preparedness to Learn About the World: Evidence from Infant Research

   • Sabina Pauen, Stefanie Hoehl

   Pages 159-173

10. Depression as an Adaptation: The Infection–Defense Hypothesis and Cytokine Mechanisms

    • Alexander Neumann, Sven Walter

    Pages 175-196

11. When Misrepresentation is Successful

    • Michael Zehetleitner, Felix D. Schönbrodt

    Pages 197-221

12. Human Sacrifice and the Evolution of Thinking: A Critical Assessment of Christoph Türcke’s Philosophy of Dreams

    • Andreas Mayer

    Pages 223-238

13. Back Matter

    Pages 239-241

    PDF

​​​​​As psychology and philosophy arose as answers to the eternal question of how the mind works, evolutionary psychology has gained ground over recent years as a link between cognitive-behavioral and natural-science theories of the mind. This provocative field has also gathered a wide range of criticisms, from attributing too much autonomy to the brain to basing itself on faulty assumptions about our prehistoric past.

Epistemological Dimensions of Evolutionary Psychology reframes its discipline for the contemporary era, correcting common misconceptions and mediating between  different schools of thought. By focusing on the nature and limits of knowledge and reasoning--the essence of epistemology--contributors offer fresh insights at the intersection of human cognitive abilities as adaptations and our self-perception of knowledge, including evolutionary perspectives on altruism, depression,  or the phasing out of human sacrifice. This diversity strengthens and vindicates the field, as evinced by thought-provoking dispatches such as: 

• Toward a cognitive philosophy of science.
• Evolutionary media psychology and its epistemological foundation.
• The "meme" meme revisited.
• Depression as an adaptation.
• Like me: a homophily-based account of human culture.
• Preparedness to learn about the world: evidence from infant research.

An engaging and often controversial testament to the combined power of evolution and logic, Epistemological Dimensions of Evolutionary Psychology will intrigue philosophers as well as psychologists in a variety of subdisciplines.

• Evolutionary Psychology
• Zeitgeist belief
• behavioral and social abilities
• biological foundations of cognitive processes
• brain states
• cognitive specialization
• cultural relativism
• genetic reductionism
• naturalistic fallacy
• neuroscientific reductionism
• organismic ontology
• principle of uniformity

• a.r.t.e.s. Graduate School for the Humanities, University of Cologne, Albertus-Magnus-Platz, D-50923 Cologne, Germany

  Thiemo Breyer

Thiemo Breyer, born 1981, studied philosophy, anthropology, and cognitive science at the Universities of Freiburg and Cambridge. After postdoctoral research at the University of Heidelberg, he is currently Professor for Transformations of Knowledge at the University of Cologne.

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