Steve Stewart-Williams Profile picture
Nov 30, 2021 12 tweets 8 min read Read on X
Misguided Criticisms of Evolutionary Psychology #1: Evolutionary psychology aims to justify traditional gender roles, societal inequalities, etc. From #TheApeThatUnderstoodTheUniverse amazon.com/Ape-that-Under…
Misguided Criticisms of Evolutionary Psychology #2: Evolutionary psychology provides an excuse for bad behavior – in particular, for the kinds of bad behavior that men specialize in. From #TheApeThatUnderstoodTheUniverse amazon.com/Ape-that-Under…
Misguided Criticisms of Evolutionary Psychology #3: Evolutionary psychology implies that certain undesirable phenomena – old-fashioned sex roles, xenophobia, war and aggression – are ultimately ineradicable. From #TheApeThatUnderstoodTheUniverse amazon.com/Ape-that-Under…
Misguided Criticisms of Evolutionary Psychology #4: Evolutionary psychology is the latest incarnation of a disturbing trend in Western thought: genetic determinism. From #TheApeThatUnderstoodTheUniverse amazon.com/Ape-that-Under…
"Why, though, do people think that, according to evolutionary psychologists, everything is down to genes?" #TheApeThatUnderstoodTheUniverse amazon.com/Ape-that-Under…
Misguided Criticisms of Evolutionary Psychology #5: Hypotheses in evolutionary psychology are unfalsifiable. amazon.com/Ape-that-Under…

"First point: If you argue that evolutionary explanations are unfalsifiable, you can't also argue that they're false..."
"But is it actually the case that evolutionary explanations are unfalsifiable? This claim is itself falsifiable – and has been repeatedly, resoundingly falsified." From #TheApeThatUnderstoodTheUniverse amazon.com/Ape-that-Under…
"There's no magic-bullet study that can single-handedly establish that a given trait is an adaptation – or that it's not. The best we can ever do is to look at the preponderance of evidence and see which way it points." #TheApeThatUnderstoodTheUniverse amazon.com/Ape-that-Under…
Misguided Criticisms of Evolutionary Psychology #6: Evolutionary psychology is just a collection of just-so stories. From #TheApeThatUnderstoodTheUniverse amazon.com/Ape-that-Under…
Misguided Criticisms of Evolutionary Psychology #7: Evolutionary psychologists only test their theories on undergraduate students from WEIRD nations. #TheApeThatUnderstoodTheUniverse amazon.com/Ape-that-Under…
Misguided Criticisms of Evolutionary Psychology #8: Evolutionary psychologists argue that everything is an adaptation. They're guilty, in other words, of what’s sometimes called "panadaptationism." #TheApeThatUnderstoodTheUniverse amazon.com/Ape-that-Under…
Critics who rail against status quo bolstering, genetic determinism and just-so storytelling are like the crazy person in the bus shelter, fighting with a sparring partner who isn't really there: They've invented their own evolutionary psychology and are arguing loudly with that.

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More from @SteveStuWill

Feb 4
Happiness 🧵 (US data)

Average happiness, 1972-2018 papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…
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Happiness by sex, 1972-2018 papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…
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Happiness by marital status, 1972-2018 papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…
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Read 7 tweets
Aug 4, 2023
Happiness 🧵 (US data)

Average happiness, 1972-2018 https://t.co/S5KgFU8VeDpapers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…
Image
Happiness by sex, 1972-2018 https://t.co/dTgnr6YxY2papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…
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Happiness by marital status, 1972-2018 https://t.co/SHVaRBZD03papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…
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Read 10 tweets
Jun 6, 2023
Amazing. No one knows for sure why dolphins do this, but possible explanations include "leadership or dominance, acoustic communication, courtship display, defining positions of members in the school, and dislodging ectoparasites." doi.org/10.1242/jeb.02…
Do dolphins just spin for fun? That's quite possibly the proximate explanation. The OP is trying to answer a different question, though, namely: What's the ultimate explanation for the behavior – the reason dolphins evolved to find spinning fun in the first place?
Read 4 tweets
Jan 26, 2023
One of the most fascinating papers I've read for a long time: People dislike their political opponents for views that most don't actually hold. [Preprint; N = 4,993; 1/5.] psyarxiv.com/cr23g/
"(Over)estimation of political opponents' agreement with extreme issues predicted cross-partisan dislike, which in turn predicted unwillingness to engage with opponents, foreclosing opportunities to correct misperceptions." psyarxiv.com/cr23g/ [2/5]
"Partisans also reported greater unwillingness to publicly voice their views on their side's extreme (relative to moderate) issues, a self-silencing which may perpetuate misconceptions." psyarxiv.com/cr23g/ [3/5]
Read 8 tweets
Jan 24, 2023
Chimp with alopecia reveals a truth usually concealed in fur: Chimps. Are. Ripped. ift.tt/2HEzCZp Image
"Compared to our cousins the chimps, even the strongest of strong men are giant weaklings – the least weak of a weak bunch." From my book The Ape That Understood the Universe. amazon.com/Ape-that-Under… ImageImage
Read 4 tweets
May 2, 2022
One of the most fascinating papers I've read for a long time: People dislike their political opponents for views that most don't actually hold. [Preprint; N = 4,993.] psyarxiv.com/cr23g/ Image
"(Over)estimation of political opponents' agreement with extreme issues predicted cross-partisan dislike, which in turn predicted unwillingness to engage with opponents, foreclosing opportunities to correct misperceptions." psyarxiv.com/cr23g/ [2/5] Image
"Partisans also reported greater unwillingness to publicly voice their views on their side's extreme (relative to moderate) issues, a self-silencing which may perpetuate misconceptions." psyarxiv.com/cr23g/ [3/5] Image
Read 7 tweets

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