This blog post examines how much evolutionary psychology can explain human behavior, critically exploring the tension between innate and environmental factors. Through this, it considers both the explanatory limitations and potential of evolutionary psychology. Recently in Korea, social controversy has arisen over claims that high school textbooks should delete or reduce content related to...
Could rape be an adaptive behavior in human evolution?
This blog post explores whether rape could be an adaptive behavior for survival and reproduction during human evolution, from scientific and evolutionary psychological perspectives. To answer any question, one must first understand it clearly. “Is rape adaptive?” is no exception. While we need not debate what rape is, we must first clearly define what an adaptation is to answer this...
Can plants, microbes, and inanimate objects be treated with respect?
This blog post draws on Yuval Harari’s Homo Deus to discuss the subjective needs of plants, microbes, and inanimate objects and whether they deserve respect. In Homo Deus, author Yuval Harari takes a critical view of animal husbandry, arguing that it is an act of providing animals with what they need to survive and reproduce, while failing to fulfill their subjective needs. He argues...
Does evolution happen gradually or can it happen abruptly?
In this blog post, we’ll compare Dawkins’ and Gould’s arguments for evolution, and explore whether evolution happens gradually or abruptly. Darwin’s Table is a fierce debate between two of the biggest names in evolutionary theory, Richard Dawkins and Stephen Jay Gould. After a half-century of being criticized by creationism, evolutionary theory has become the...
Could advances in science and technology lead to the extinction of the human species?
In this blog post, we explore the impact of scientific and technological advances on the future of the human species and the possibility of extinction, based on the book Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. In the movie The Matrix (1999), humans in the future are grown like commercial crops by machines and artificial intelligence. As soon as they are born, they are placed in tiny tanks where they...
If rape is an adaptation, why should it be treated as an ethical issue?
In this blog post, we explore the debate over whether rape is an evolutionary adaptation and delve into why it should be treated as an ethical issue. As evolutionary theory has evolved, there have been various discussions about what can be subject to natural selection. One controversial topic is the question “Is rape an adaptation?” This question was first addressed in Thornhill’s...
Is Homo sapiens superiority a human privilege?
In this blog post, we’ll discuss the claim of human superiority in Sapiens and explore whether it’s a privilege or a result of our interactions with other organisms in the ecosystem. In chapters 1 and 2 of Homo sapiens, Yuval Noah Harari argues that a variety of unique human traits have played a large role in our current position of dominance. While he notes that the brain and...
Can the dominance of non-organic algorithms bring positive change to human society?
In this blog post, we explore a future where non-organic algorithms dominate humanity and discuss the positive changes that could result. In his book Homo Deus, Yuval Noah Harari concludes with a discussion of data religion. According to data science, as technology advances, the performance of non-organic algorithms will surpass that of organic algorithms. The argument is that non-organic...
Is evolution really a change for the better?
In this blog post, Darwin’s Table takes a deep dive into the question of whether evolution is really a process of change for the better. Are plants and animals in the natural world evolving in a progressive way? In the past, we’ve assumed that the structure of the body and the brain have evolved over time in a self-evident direction of increasing complexity, but reading...
Can rape be understood as an adaptation from an evolutionary perspective?
This blog post explores whether rape can be interpreted as an adaptation from an evolutionary perspective. In doing so, it brings together the evolutionary causes of human behavior and the ethical controversy. In the book Darwin’s Table, written by Korean professor Daeik Jang, prominent scholars debate whether male rape behavior is an adaptation or not. Leading adaptationists...