Evolution, Psychological and Biological Diversity, and a Modern Science of Crime

• In Event: Evolutionary Theory and Genetic Confounding

Abstract

The prevailing view among evolutionary scholars for some time now is that there is a "pan human” or “universal" human nature. This is almost certainly true in many important respects. What this also means is that any psychological and behavioral differences that emerge between human population groups (demes, ethnic groups, races) should be the product of purely cultural (and historical) factors. Yet, more recent evidence suggests that the idea of a universal human nature—while not wholly incorrect—may need to be reframed. Humans migrated out of Africa approximately 50,000 years ago. Post-migration, human groups occupied different ecological niches and faced difference selective pressures. Moreover, evolutionary change itself can happen more rapidly than was previously thought. All of these points coalesce to suggest that recent, and regionally specific evolutionary change—products of both sexual and natural selection—might impact various psychological and developmental traits relevant to the study of crime today.

Author

• Brian Boutwell, Saint Louis University