Unnatural Selection: Comment on the “Teaching Comparative Psychology” Symposium

Abstract

In this discussion of symposium papers, I examine why comparative psychologists do not consider professional associations of psychology to represent the core of the discipline. I review textbooks in terms of their contribution to comparative psychology and argue that psychology avoids its natural epistemology, that of natural selection and ultimate causality, in preference for the meretricious offerings provided by proximate causation. I also examine why many psychologists consider evolution to be dehumanizing and state three goals for the teaching of comparative psychology: (a) its reliance on a central epistemological premise, (b) its demonstration of the historical ways in which comparative psychology has changed our views of human behavior, and (c) its duty to compel the student and the public to examine the ethical standing and rights of animals.

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