1.) Epigenetics have become a major field of study in current population and behavioral research. What are major ethical concerns that may arise from an epigenetic perspective?
Think about the importance of prenatal and rearing environments and how inequality may play into/ affect our likelihood to live a long life.
2.) What do you think the authors mean when they say the following?
“Darwin’s theory explains how complex adaptations can arise through natural processes, but it does not predict that every possible adaptation, or even most, will occur. This is not the best of all possible worlds; it is just one of many possible worlds.”
What is a good example of an adaptation that reflects the tinkering process?
3.) Watch this video and discuss the following points:
a.) What does eugenic theory mean by improvement? How does improvement play into this example?
b.) Even Adolf Hitler took notice. In “Mein Kampf,” published in 1925, he celebrated the ideology. “There is today one state,” wrote Hitler, “in which at least weak beginnings toward a better conception [of citizenship] are noticeable. Of course, it is not our model German Republic, but the United States.” Hitler’s Reich deployed its own sterilization laws, nearly identical to those in the United States, within six months of taking power in 1933.
What are your thoughts on this article:
https://www.npr.org/2020/09/18/914465793/ice-a-whistleblower-and-forced-sterilization
4.) What do you think about the following article:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/naturally-selected/201206/are-we-hardwired-damage-the-environment (Links to an external site.)
Do you agree with the five human instincts?
Are assumptions based on sound evidence or evolutionary theory?
5.) Choose and pick among the following questions to discuss Evolutionary Psychology and its emphasis on studying the mind.
1. Why is evolutionary psychology different from previous theories in understanding behavior (blank slate vs computer programs)?
2. What are these structures/programs that Evolutionary psychologists discuss?
3. What is a universal?
4. Can you think about implications of using evolutionary psychologist explanations to understand behavior?
6.) What happened with the Mayas?
Based on which group you are assigned to, watch the associated documentary. Answer the following questions in your discussion or comment on somebody else’s post.
1.How does environmental determinism play in these cases?
2.Is possibilism a better explanation?
3.What are the cultural adaptations that we see and how do they differ among the two groups?
4.What explains the success of one group and the decline of another?
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