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The Developing Approaches to Evolutionary Epistemology: an Historical Perspective

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The Developing Approaches to Evolutionary Epistemology: an Historical Perspective Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 99 3rd International Conference on Social Science and Higher Education (ICSSHE-17) The Developing Approaches to Evolutionary Epistemology: An Historical Perspective Ren Qiaohua, Zhang Jingzhu School of Marxism, Shenyang Jianzhu University School of Marxism, Shenyang Jianzhu University Shenyang, China, 110168 Shenyang, China, 110168 [email protected] [email protected] Abstract—Evolutionary epistemology has been developed in adaptation, believing that the organism gene in the gene pool various historical stages that responds to different approaches, corresponds to the trait. From parents to future generations, namely, adaptationism, non-adaptationism and interactionism. genes are adapted to this channel. Genes can influence human This paper gives an account of three approaches in terms of the cognitive constructs.[3] Since genes will affect human hot debate on confirming the mechanism of biological evolution cognitive constructs, behavioral ecologists gradually stand in and elucidates why these approaches have been developed in the adaptationist position to test the variation and successful different contexts. It is suggested that the development of reproduction fitness from the view of natural induced traits and evolutionary epistemology should be of implications on the the variation of experimental traits. In the eyes of Buss (1995), studies of epistemology. this approach poses two problems: (1) The evolutionary Keywords—evolutionary epistemology, adaptationism, adaptedness of organism coincides with evolutionary non-adaptationism, organism, environment adaptedness of environment whereas the previously adapted environment is different from the existing environment. (2) I. INTRODUCTION The psychological mechanism common to mankind is unique.[4] Nathalie Gontier, an American professor of philosophy at the University of Lisbon, has addressed the different Dusenbery (1996) tries to explicate the origin of species’ approaches to evolutionary epistemology. She suggests that the specificity from three points: (1) Biological adaptation traditional approach is based upon biological adaptionism conforms to the psychological mechanism. (2) biological whereas this approach has ignored the mental process of variation drives natural selection. (3) The genetic mechanism is organism. By contrast, the non-adaptionism approach is transmitted.[5] As far as he is concerned, biological adaptation proposed to compensate for the flaws of the traditional ones. [1] is the way of determining the psychological mechanism. Her understandings of evolutionary epistemology has been Through natural selection, human cognitive ability is the drawn increasingly attention around the field of bio-philosophy. product of evolution, so the interpretation of human traits must From the available literature, more focuses have been on be consistent with the natural selection theory. Human exploring the general evolutionary epistemology mechanism behavior science and other studies are also required to follow but little is known about the theoretical basis for the changing the approach to natural selection. As it should be, the approaches to evolutionary epistemology. Hereby, it is of explanation of other animal traits also follows this approach. In significance for us to clarify the reasons for these changes and addition, from a view of species specificity, even if biological to account for implications for traditional epistemology. variation drives natural selection, different species in the face of evolutionary adaptive environment will have different II. THE ADAPTATIONISM APPROACHES TO EVOLUTIONARY problems with the corresponding solutions, so that biological EPISTEMOLOGY: NATURAL SELECTION BASED adaptation itself has become the key to solve the adaptive Since the early 20th century, adaptationism prevailed in problems. It is true that, from the biogenetic gene transfer biology has directly influenced the approaches to evolutionary mechanism, all the complex mechanisms of biology are epistemology. By the approach to adaptationism, organism and evolved from thousands of genes. Recombination of genetic environment are viewed as two separate entities, which interact factors between individuals is a prerequisite for maintaining only in a selective process, but are independent of each other complex mechanisms. Recombination of natural selection and during its development [2]. Neo-Darwinism as a dominant sexual reproduction often leads to a relatively uniformity of theory in that period strictly insists on the dualism and complex adaptive design. maintains that organisms are passively selected by environment. Adaptationism approaches to Evolutionary epistemology In the early period of evolutionary epistemology, it follows the just follow Dusenbery’s interpretation of the priority to natural ways by giving priority to natural selection when interpreting selection, but is it possible that this adaptationism approach can biological evolution, including cognitive development. be carried out in different contexts? A. Natural selection - as an absolute power The biologist, Symons (1990) sees the trait as a result of This paper is sponsored by Projects of the National Social Science Foundation of China (15CZX014), “EEM Program’s Theoretical Development and Methodological implications” Copyright © 2017, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). 383 Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 99 B. The external environment- as a dominant power EEA has not been changed. In contrast, during the process of Wuketits (1989) states briefly that the adaptationist human evolution, the adaptation to earlier environment is approaches to evolutionary epistemology involve two basic different from adaptation to current environment, so it seems assumptions: (1) The sense organ of any organism will be that the EEA of human has been changed in this respect. adapted to the external world. (2) What the organism perceives The early study of evolutionary epistemology is based upon is a real but simplistic mirror or part of the external world.[6] the theory of evolutionary biology. The standpoint of Wuketits’s assumptions point to the adaptability of cognitive adaptionism has been defensed by theory of selection. Due to structures and the external world’s structure. The the dominant position of adaptionism in biology during the first adaptationism approach to evolutionary epistemology attempts half of the 20th century, many scholars tend to argue that this to examine the adaptability of biological cognitive phenotypic approach is legitimate to reveal the problems of mental traits, by use of the term “function” to refer to the traits by organization with special psychological structures. This satisfying special needs, emphasizing the implications of approach to evolutionary epistemology must start with the environmental selection. Hereby, adaptation is also defined discovery and description of biological adaptation, because the from the perspective of the evolution of species. On this basis, complex functional organization of the organism is embedded Godfrey-Smith(2001) distinguishes with three paradigms of into the organ design by means of the adaptive mechanism. adaptionism :[7] Natural selection is known as the only designer of biological (1) Empirical adaptationism. Maynard Smith is seen as a functional organ. Thereby, the success of evolutionary biology typical representative in this area. He indicates that natural lies so much in the use of adaptionism approaches to explain selection has a strong, ubiquitous causal power whereas the the functional design of organic traits. biological variation can be ignored. From a view of natural This approach to evolutionary epistemology is encouraged selection, the results of the evolutionary process can be to regard the physiological trait of biological cognition as a predicted and explained. Natural selection promotes the successful extension of the other mental traits of the organism, formation of organism structures, including cognitive such as vertebrate eyes. Under the influence of this approach, structures. There are no other evolutionary factors that can evolutionary epistemologists advocate that the interpretation of produce such a powerful force. the mind needs to start from the relationship between mind and (2) Explanatory adaptationism. The neurologist Daniel body, so the cognitive structure and function is no longer a Dennett is treated as a typical representative in this area. He by-product of other traits. Thus, early evolutionary highlights natural selection has a unique explanatory power epistemology supports the principle of adaptionism, and theory of selection can solve the “design” problems of particularly in favor of the theoretical basis of adaptive organism as well as problems of the interactions between maximization to biological behavior. However, this approach environment and organism. In other words, natural selection is has long ignored the important process of knowledge seen as a naturalistic and non-theological solution to the generation, namely, mental construction. “design” problem, as the only the process to result in a III. THE NON-ADAPTATIONISM APPROACH TO EVOLUTIONARY complex physiological and psychological mechanisms. EPISTEMOLOGY: INITIATIVES BASED (3) Methodological adaptationism. Ernst Mayrt is regarded Adaptationism
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