Hypergamy and Infidelity Redux: Part I ~ Why Evolutionary Psychology Works
This post is the first in a series to lay out the basic explanatory framework assumed in my work, in order to address topics raised in a comment by reader Anette on this post. I am not doing this to pick on her and I will not tolerate uncharitable comments toward her. In calling attention to her I am also giving her admin moderated immunity from comments not on topic or personal attacks in this forum, a rare exception to my normal policy of allowing all non-spam comments through. Like her, I think many readers would benefit from a big-picture view of the subject of Ev. Psych. as it applies to game and social interaction.
Moreover this post is my attempt to aggregate critical information derived from several scientific disciplines relating to ev. psych. theories and to present them in the context of social dynamics and game. I will be adding much of this first post to my philosophy page to enlighten new initiates to Alpha game the necessary background. My impression is that Anette, like many others, is genuine and interested in debating these topics, but lacks the experience with ev. psych. to see the context for and validity of some of the principles such as hypergamy which while we may wish to deny them for sundry reasons, are strongly, perhaps irrefutably supported by both scientific research and anecdotal observation. Clearly what I assume as fundamental is predicated on the scientific method, which while not infallible, theorizes and accepts as fact the consensus views of the experts in the field as the accepted explanation for a problem. These would be theories, which in hard sciences are based on repeatable observations. I assume you accept the scientific method and its conclusions as fact, even where the conclusions may be uncomfortable or distasteful. I assume we can understand that generalizations are not absolute and should be understood as being comprised of a spectrum of individuals distributed around the mean. I presume you accept the theory of evolution and that we are beings evolved from animals and possessing the biological legacies that arise from this. In reading posts addressing one principle of ev. psych. in isolation, it is obviously more difficult to see the validity and importance of our biology and inherited drives and behaviors in influencing our actions. Here I will flesh out much of the background necessary to view the more targeted posts in the correct context. The ev. psych. perspective provides one philosophical framework for the interpretation of human behavior and interaction and it is scientifically derived which lends validity to its conclusions. Hereafter I will make the case for this interpretive framework as a lens through which to view human interaction, and a matrix into which other posts fit. Students of game and social dynamics will recognize the validity and utility of ev. psych. principles, but many readers struggle with viewing human behavior in these terms because the objective and reductionist viewpoint often challenges our cherished beliefs about ourselves, and forces us to face some uncomfortable truths about human nature. Read more…
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