TY - JOUR
T1 - Evolution of human jealousy : a just-so story or a just-so criticism?
AU - SESARDIC, Neven
PY - 2003/12/1
Y1 - 2003/12/1
N2 - To operationalize the methodological assessment of evolutionary psychology, three requirements are proposed that, if satisfied, would show that a hypothesis is not a just-so story: (1) theoretical entrenchment (i.e., that the hypothesis under consideration is a consequence of a more fundamental theory that is empirically well-confirmed across a very wide range of phenomena), (2) predictive success (i.e., that the hypothesis generates concrete predictions that make it testable and eventually to a certain extent corroborated), and (3) failure of rival explanations (i.e., that crucial and successful predictions attributed to the hypothesis in question cannot be derived from alternative hypotheses). The author argues that the hypothesis about evolutionary sex differences in human jealousy satisfies all three requirements.
AB - To operationalize the methodological assessment of evolutionary psychology, three requirements are proposed that, if satisfied, would show that a hypothesis is not a just-so story: (1) theoretical entrenchment (i.e., that the hypothesis under consideration is a consequence of a more fundamental theory that is empirically well-confirmed across a very wide range of phenomena), (2) predictive success (i.e., that the hypothesis generates concrete predictions that make it testable and eventually to a certain extent corroborated), and (3) failure of rival explanations (i.e., that crucial and successful predictions attributed to the hypothesis in question cannot be derived from alternative hypotheses). The author argues that the hypothesis about evolutionary sex differences in human jealousy satisfies all three requirements.
KW - Adaptationism
KW - Evolutionary psychology
KW - Philosophy of science
KW - Testability
UR - http://commons.ln.edu.hk/sw_master/2105
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=2342471348&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0048393103257964
DO - 10.1177/0048393103257964
M3 - Journal Article (refereed)
SN - 0048-3931
VL - 33
SP - 427
EP - 443
JO - Philosophy of the Social Sciences
JF - Philosophy of the Social Sciences
IS - 4
ER -