Product Description

A clear introduction to the implications of the Darwinian revolution for our understanding of human nature. Fosters skills in thinking about human nature and critical discussion of Darwin's arguments and those of his key commentators.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #172193 in Books
• Published on: 2000-11-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Currently a Reader in Bioethics at the University College London Janet Radcliffe-Richards' Human Nature After Darwin is an introduction to both philosophy and Darwinism. It matters little whether one sees it as "a substantive thesis about the implications of Darwinism with a subsidiary methodological thesis", or a "philosophical introduction to Darwinism". On any reading it is first-rate.

What makes the book extremely useful in negotiating a path through the Darwin warzone is that it introduces basic techniques of philosophical argument and analysis into the debate and each chapter has a number of exercises for the student to work and think through for themselves. In this sense it is similar to Anthony Thouless' classic Straight and Crooked Thinking and Anthony Flew's Thinking About Thinking in that it helps clear up a lot of unnecessary confusion and befuddled argument by encouraging good general habits of logical hygiene.

The philosophical topics include scepticism and relativism as well as problems concerning freewill, determinism, responsibility and ethics which characterise debates within Darwinism. Radcliffe-Richards' book is not concerned with the question of which school of Darwinism most accurately represents the truth; instead it focuses mainly on questions about what follows if a particular view is true. To the extent that disputes about Darwinism are motivated by anxieties about implications it is clearly important that followers of the debates are able to judge for themselves whether the different views really do have the implications they are supposed to have. Radcliffe-Richards' substantive thesis is that the claims of sociobiologists do not have the unwelcome cultural/political implications attributed to them.

If Stephen and Hilary Roses' recent Alas Poor Darwin represents the case for the prosecution against evolutionary psychology Philosophy After Darwin is not so much a defence (though Radcliffe-Richards is certainly concerned with refuting charges against evolutionary psychology) as it is an object lesson in analytical thinking. Absolutely essential reading for left-leaning opponents of EP and for specialists and students of the Darwin Wars. --Larry Brown

Review
'Janet Radcliffe Richards reveals the real 'implications' of Darwinism for our view of ourselves. If you knew that the anti-Darwinians must be wrong but you lacked ammunition - here it is.' - Helena Cronin, London School of Economics

'Janet Radcliffe Richards has scored yet another success. Human Nature After Darwin is simply the clearest and most accurate introduction that there is to the current controversies about evolution, about Darwinian evolution in particular, and about how these do or do not apply to our own species. This is a book that will prove invaluable to students of all ages. Highly recommended.' - Michael Ruse, University of Guelph, Canada

'A really excellent text. Richards uses the controversy over sociobiology as a way to discuss a whole series of traditional philosophical problems. This is an introductory text dealing with extremely important issues.' - David Hull, Northwestern University

' ... a superb book ... Written with real verve and large doses of humour, - Human Nature After Darwin provides insights with relevance to many issues in public policy and to numerous fields, including philosophy, political science, sociology and law.'

'This book provides a valuable introduction to philosophical methods of thinking. In focusing on problems about human nature, it is always clear, well-informed and challenging' - Roger Trigg, University of Warwick

'What evolutionary psychology needs most is clear thinking. Richards provides it ... This book has long been needed, and will be much appreciated.' - Randolph M. Nesse, University of Michigan

From the Back Cover
Human Nature After Darwin: A Philosophical Introduction is an original investigation of the implications of Darwinism for our understanding of ourselves and our situation. It casts new light on current Darwinian controversies, and in doing so provides an introduction to philosophical reasoning and a range of philosophical problems.

Janet Radcliffe Richards claims that many current battles about Darwinism, in particular about evolutionary psychology and religion, are based on mistaken assumptions about the implications of the rival views. Her analysis of these implications provides a much-needed guide to the fundamentals of Darwinism and the so-called Darwin wars, as well as providing a set of philosophical techniques relevant to wide areas of moral and political debate. It also raises philosophical problems of knowledge and certainty, free will and responsibility, altruism, the status of ethics, and the relevance of Darwinism to questions of ethics, politics, and religion.

The lucid presentation makes the book an ideal introduction to both philosophy and Darwinism, as well as a substantive contribution to topics of intense current controversy. It will be of interest to students of philosophy, science and the social sciences, and critical thinking.

Customer Reviews

Clear philosophical thinking
Two important books on modern biology were published in 2000 by authors outside of the field itself. One of them - Ullica Segerstrale's "Defenders of the Truth" concentrates on the historical and sociological aspects of "The Sociobiology Debate". Janet Radcliffe Richards' "Human Nature after Darwin" provides a different, complementary point of view with a subtitle "a philosophical introduction". Both books come up with similar results: the criticism against evolutionary psychology has been seriously misplaced.

In Radcliffe Richards' opinion, "much of the smoke of the Darwin wars is generated by widespread unfamiliarity with fairly basic techniques of philosophical argument and analysis". Her book is not so much about the science itself than the implications of the different points of view: if it turns out (as it does) that the Darwinian critics have corresponding problems with their views than "sociobiologists", the metaphysically motivated resistance against new scientific results is pointless. Radcliffe Richards starts by creating a line of "deepening Darwinism":

anti-Darwinists

Mind-First, dualist Darwinists

plank-paper Darwinists (standard social science theorists)

gene-machine Darwinists (evolutionary psychologists)

The first level is populated by creationists and the like minority groups. It is fairly safe to say that most people like the second level best, accepting Darwinian evolution for our bodies but not our minds. Just after that we find the "materialism boundary" and the two rather provocatively named levels; the level arguing that biology has no effect in human behaviour, and the level where it does contribute (in addition to culture). The "culturalists" base their view on works from the likes of Durkheim (sociology), Boas (anthropology) and Skinner (psychology), while the "genetics" derive theirs from E. O. Wilson, Richard Dawkins, David Buss and others. In evolutionary psychology one studies the emotions and other inclinations as adaptations that can - indirectly - affect how animals, us included, behave and learn.

Now, from the description above, evolutionary psychology does not come out as a very dangerous idea. Why it is often portrayed as such? While Segerstrale deals with the motives of the critics in her book, Radcliffe Richards concentrates on the logical errors in their reasoning (since these matters are not easy to separate, the two books form a very good couple). For example, when evolutionary psychologists speak about emotions, critics see them making claims about innate behaviour which is, of course, totally different thing. Dawkins' "selfish gene" -view is claimed to advocate selfish human behaviour, but how is this possible: not only does word selfish has a totally different meaning in the two contexts, but - more importantly - genes are far, far different things than the organism they create. The hidden assumption behind the criticism here is mind-boggingly silly!

Radcliffe Richards' rationality is most of all common sense, as can be seen from quotes like "if we think some earlier theories are certainly false, we must believe that the evidence that proves them false is certainly true" (about possibility of truthful scientific theories). What about the claim that non-materialism goes with non-determinism, while non-material substances are often thought to affect each other and material substances (brains)? Do such matters as choice, responsibility and desert (merit) fare better in a state of indeterminism? Does free will fare better in cultural determinism (standard social science theory) than in evolutionary psychology? Radcliffe Richards' answer is no. In addition, there is no reason to think that if materialism (as a metaphysical view) is true we must be unable to reason morally (or have materialist set of values). Explaining the evolution of altruism does not make it illusory, and to support our moral intuition we have our (culturally influenced) cognitive machinery. "The only values that might be threatened by the truth of evolutionary psychology are the derived ones that result from combining the fundamental ones [e.g., the well-being of men and women should be regarded as equally important] with particular empirical beliefs."

The book originates from an university course intended to teach philosophy at an introductory level. As a consequence, it is not only clearly written, but also has several exercises (with answers) to sharpen ones philosophical techniques on. "Human Nature after Darwin" is an important contribution to the philosophy of biology.