Evolutionary approaches to human behavior

This chapter provides an overview how evolutionary theory has been applied to investigate human behavior and cognition, examining whether human beings can be studied in the same way as any other species of animal. It reviews the history of applying evolutionary theory to human behavior from C. Darwin to the present day, highlighting recurrent controversies such as the “nature versus nurture” debate. The chapter evaluates the assumption that human beings can be studied as if they were any other animal species. Human beings are potentially different from other animals in terms of their reliance on culture and the extent to which human beings modify their selective environments, and the fidelity, efficiency, and breadth of information transfer, which is enhanced by language and teaching. Human language allows for trade, a form of mutualistic exchange that outside of humans is virtually absent in the animal kingdom.