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Trying To Fix The Development In Evolutionary Developmental Psychology, David S. Moore

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

If we agree for a moment that there is such a thing as human nature, we immediately encounter an extraordinarily thorny question: Where does our nature come from? This question drives David Bjorklund and Anthony Pellegrini’s new book The Origins of Human Nature: Evolutionary Developmental Psychology. The question is so challenging, in part, because human nature reflects at least two conceptually distinct processes: evolution and development. The former, which operates across generations, allows the continued existence of characteristics that permitted survival and reproduction in our ancestors; the latter, which operates during a person’s lifetime, contributes to the appearance of …