HPSC20002 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Richard Dawkins, Robert Trivers, Hominidae
24 May 2018
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DAY 9: HUMAN NATURE
Origins and Human Nature
• 3 influential origin myths in the Western tradition
o Genesis and the Fall from Grace
• Seen in paintings, major influence on the western/Christian background
o The Golden Age
• ????
o Lucretius' On the Nature of Things (1AD)
• Vision of human progress from a primitive state towards civilisation
• Similar vision seen in Vitruvius' Ten Books of Architecture - renaissance Europe
• Wild Man and the State of Nature
o Get combined in folk lore - wild man as hairy who lives in a cave
o Romantic primitivism
Origins and Morality
• 0ften explicitly aspects of morality in origin myths and philosophical conceptions
• Lovejoy and Boas: hard and soft primitivism - often associated with Hobbes and Rousseau
o Humans were innocent and corrupted by civilisation
o Civilisation has civilised humanities brutish instincts
• Source of morality: imposed by God and/or the State, or does it come within
Darwin
• Major changes, but not entire changes
• On the Origin of Species (1859): predicts that psychology will be based on the necessary acquirement of each
mental power and capacity by gradation, light will there be thrown on the origin of man and his history
• Early on, thinking about sympathy and morality - sympathy was at the root of morality, and was a primary driver of
human behaviour
Impacts of Evolution
• We are animals, a mammal, a Great Ape (share a common ancestor)
• Our evolutionary history has shaped our bodies and our brains/minds
• By studying the great apes we can learn something about our evolutionary past, by studying our evolutionary past,
we can learn about our human nature
What makes us human?
• Physical/anatomical: bipedal, nimble hands with opposing hands, large brain
• Can evolution explain everything about humans? (morality, religion and spirituality, love, violence, selfishness etc.)
• Morality: does accepting evolution mean inevitable moral decay? Is religion necessary to impose morality?
o From a Darwinian perspective: morality can be viewed as codified pro-social behaviour, morality is unspoken,
evolved rules of our social life peculiar to our species
• Can see morality in chimpanzees and bonobos
• Competition and Cooperation: moral behaviour seen as our ability to take part in our competition and cooperation,
and to identify cheaters and punish them, to engage for common ends
o Prince Kropotkin: emphasised the important role of cooperation, or mutual aid plays both in human and
animal communities (now named symbiotic relationship), thought sympathy exists in man and in social
animals
Theories of Mind
• The ability to read minds - to understand what other people are thinking, to anticipate their intention and to
communicated what we are thinking through language and non-verbal clues
• Most advanced in humans, although seen in apes and dogs
• May be the foundation of cooperation and communication in humans
• Without it language and culture would be impossible
Reciprocal Altruism
• Robert Trivers - biologist, 1971 - inspired by Richard Dawkins, E.O. Wilson
• Is an act which benefits an unrelated individual while incurring a cost to the actor
• Argues that we engage in behaviour because we expect to get it back - not from the same person, could be from
anyone
• A lot of emotions and traits can be explained as important adaptations to regulate the altruistic system
The Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness
• Hunter-Gatherer lifestyle and habitats where humans spent the vast majority of our evolutionary history
• Sexual division of labour a key part of the lifestyle and community
• Foraging Hypothesis: different tasks based on gender, therefore women being able to remember locations, and
have a sense of direction
o Likely to remember high calorie food items - women more likely than men to remember, 30% more ability
Social Movements
Document Summary
3 influential origin myths in the western tradition: genesis and the fall from grace. Seen in paintings, major influence on the western/christian background. Lucretius" on the nature of things (1ad: vision of human progress from a primitive state towards civilisation. Similar vision seen in vitruvius" ten books of architecture - renaissance europe: wild man and the state of nature, get combined in folk lore - wild man as hairy who lives in a cave, romantic primitivism. 0ften explicitly aspects of morality in origin myths and philosophical conceptions. Lovejoy and boas: hard and soft primitivism - often associated with hobbes and rousseau: humans were innocent and corrupted by civilisation, civilisation has civilised humanities brutish instincts. Source of morality: imposed by god and/or the state, or does it come within. Early on, thinking about sympathy and morality - sympathy was at the root of morality, and was a primary driver of human behaviour.
