Darwin's psychology : the theatre of agency

Darwin has long been hailed as forefather to behavioural science, and even more so nowadays, with the growing popularity of evolutionary psychologies. This is the first book to examine Darwin’s own extensive writings about psychological matters. It finds that Darwin’s fulcrum was the agency of living creatures—both in his psychology and in his theory of evolution. A careful reading of Darwin’s writings on topics from climbing plants to babies shows that no individual-based theory of evolution can explain everything about human action. The interpersonal domain, group-life and culture, are also key, whether we consider the dynamics of conscience, emotional expressions or the dramas of desire. For example, Darwin argues that the anatomy and physiology of evolutionarily ‘purposeless’ facial movements gain meaning through their perception by others. His explanation of blushing adds a layer of complexity to such recognition—my blush results from my perception of how you are reading me. A similar reflexive dynamic governs how Darwin understands sexual desire, conscience, the setting of social standards, and the place of culture in human agency. Testing the main plank of Darwin’s psychology—that a capacity for group-interaction underpins the most human aspects of human agency—has awaited contemporary research, being recently confirmed by film-studies of young babies. Darwin’s writings frame a surprisingly well-resourced arena for elaboration of a socialized, agentic account of how we and our fellow creatures live. Moreover, Darwin stands at the forefront of moves toward an evolutionary biology in which organisms lead and genes follow. Darwin has long been hailed as forefather to behavioural science, especially nowadays, with the growing popularity of evolutionary psychologies. Yet, until now, his contribution to the field of psychology has been somewhat understated. This is the first book ever to examine the riches of what Darwin himself wrote about psychological matters. It unearths a Darwin new to contemporary science, whose first concern is the agency of organisms -- from which he derives both his psychology, and his theory of evolution. A deep reading of Darwin's writings on climbing plants and babies, blushing and bower-birds, worms and facial movements, shows that, for Darwin, evolution does not explain everything about human action. Group-life and culture are also keys, whether we discuss the dynamics of conscience or the dramas of desire. Thus his treatment of facial actions sets out from the anatomy and physiology of human facial movements, and shows how these gain meanings through their recognition by others. A discussion of blushing extends his theory to the way reading others' expressions rebounds on ourselves -- I care about how I think you read me. This dynamic proves central to how Darwin understands sexual desire, the production of conscience and of social standards through group dynamics, and the role of culture in human agency. Presenting a new Darwin to science, and showing how widely Darwin's understanding of evolution and agency has been misunderstood and misrepresented in biology and the social sciences, this important new book lights a new way forward for those who want to build psychology on the foundation of evolutionary biology. Darwin has long been hailed as forefather to behavioural science, especially nowadays, with the growing popularity of evolutionary psychologies. Yet, until now, his contribution to the field of psychology has been somwhat understated. 0This is the first book ever to examine the riches of what Darwin himself wrote about psychological matters. It unearths a Darwin new to science, whose first concern is the agency of organisms-from which he derives both his psychology, and his theory of evolution. 0A deep reading of Darwin's writings on climbing plants and babies, blushing and bower-birds, worms and facial movements, shows that, for Darwin, evolution does not explain everything about human action. Group-life and culture are also keys, whether we discuss the dynamics of conscience or the dramas of desire. Thus his treatment of facial actions sets out from the anatomy and physiology of human facial movements, and shows how these are recognized by others. A discussion of blushing extends his theory to the way reading others' expressions rebounds on ourselves-I care about how I think you read me. This dynamic proves central to how Darwin understands sexual desire, the production of conscience and of social standards through group dynamics, and the role of culture in human agency. 0Presenting a new Darwin to science, and showing how widely Darwin's understanding of evolution and agency has been misunderstood and misrepresented in the biology and the social sciences, this important new book shows a new way forward for those who want to base psychology on the foundation of evolutionary biology This text examines the riches of what Darwin himself wrote about psychological matters. It unearths a Darwin new to science, whose first concern is the agency of organisms-from which he derives both his psychology, and his theory of evolution.