March 15th Notes REL 304 Evolutionary Psychology First psychological theory that can subsume all of psychology

gy and explain it through actual science it has the ability to center/unify psychology Assimilation of Psychology and Biology Foundations for Evolutionary Psychology 1. Modern humans are the product of evolution by natural selection a. Natural selection works through heredity and mutation b. Natural selection designs, through adaptation, organisms fitted to their environment c. Adaptation results in complex design, fine-tuned biological structure and function, and speciation. 2. Modern human brain/minds are the product of evolution by natural selection a. Like all biological systems, the structures and functions of brains are adaptions b. The human brain was designed to meet specific challenges in the ancestral environment c. All human brains, like all human bodies, share common design and function Evidence for the evolved brain The Adapted Mind 1. An Adapted Mind the structures and functions of the brain are adapted solutions to survival challenges faced in our ancestral past. 2. A Prehistoric Mind how you think and what you think today are supported by these same adapted mental mechanisms Evolutionary psychology explains human thinking and behaviors that are byproducts of mental mechanisms and abilities originally adapted for other purposes. 1. Most aspects of human culture and civilization including art, science, and politics are by products of mental capacities original adapted for other purposes 2. Religion is a by-product of mental mechanisms originally adapted for other purposes. 3.