Eugenics and the Nature-Nurture Debate in the Twentieth Century

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-ix

   PDF

2. Introduction

   1. Introduction

      • Aaron Gillette

      Pages 1-18

3. The Rebirth of Sociobiology and Evolutionary Psychology

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 19-19

      PDF

   2. Foundations for a “New” Synthesis

      • Aaron Gillette

      Pages 21-26

   3. Recent Studies on Human Sexuality

      • Aaron Gillette

      Pages 27-37

4. The Birth of Sociobiology and Evolutionary Psychology

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 39-39

      PDF

   2. The Animal Nature of Humans

      • Aaron Gillette

      Pages 41-60

   3. Earlier Studies on Human Sexuality

      • Aaron Gillette

      Pages 61-94

   4. Evolution, Ethics, and Culture

      • Aaron Gillette

      Pages 95-103

5. The Death of Sociobiology and Evolutionary Psychology

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 105-105

      PDF

   2. The Rise of Environmental Behaviorism

      • Aaron Gillette

      Pages 107-120

   3. Evolutionary Psychology under Attack

      • Aaron Gillette

      Pages 121-134

   4. The Death of Evolutionary Psychology

      • Aaron Gillette

      Pages 135-155

   5. Lost in the Wilderness

      • Aaron Gillette

      Pages 157-162

   6. Conclusion

      • Aaron Gillette

      Pages 163-167

6. Back Matter

   Pages 169-224

   PDF

Gillette shows that the sciences of sociobiology and evolutionary psychology were undergoing rapid development in the early Twentieth century. However, many of the early researchers in these sciences were also eugenicists. With the rise of behaviourism and the reaction against eugenics in the 1930s, any scientific claims that behaviour might be influenced by heredity were suppressed for ideological reasons.

• 20. Jahrhundert
• 20th century
• behavior
• death
• ethics
• evolution
• evolutionary psychology
• psychology
• synthesis

"Gillette covers a development in intellectual history that, I believe, was formative in generating today's conventional wisdom about human nature, yet has scarcely been treated by historians of science. The book is well written and researched, and brings interesting new facts to light."

- Steven Pinker, Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology, Harvard, and author of The Stuff of Thought

"In this book, Gillette conclusively demonstrates that the sociobiological revolution of the late 20th century was not nearly as revolutionary as most think. Anticipating the work of E. O. Wilson, Richard Dawkins, Robert Trivers, and others by half a century, the work of early 20th-century evolutionary psychologists nevertheless fell into obscurity for several reasons, not the least of which was its taint by association with the eugenics movement. This is a volume that will be of great use not just to students of the histories of psychology and eugenics, but also to those interested in the philosophy and sociology of science." - Kevin Kern, University of Akron

AARON GILLETTE is Assistant Professor of History, University of Houston-Downtown, USA.

Policies and ethics