Evolutionary Psychology

Evolutionary psychology seeks to explain how psychology traits such as memory and language have evolved. There are some traits, such as basic facial expressions for fear or excitement, that seem to be universal. However the language differences across the globe suggest that other traits are cultural. It has been suggested that language and the ability to express thoughts is what sets humans apart from the chimpanzees. In her article Does evolution explain human nature, Eva Jablonka wrote “many people are ready to accept that evolution explains chimpanzees nature, but not that if explains human nature. They assume that at some definite point in evolutionary history, God intervened and endowed the human lineage with something that has set humankind apart.” I agree with Jablonka, because majority of people believe in some form of deity that gives meaning to this life on earth.

However, the use of language continues to be a struggle for me to grasp. I understand that at one point the cavemen grunting had to become more complex. Yet my faith tells me that God made Adam and Eve and was able to communicate with them in the Garden of Eden. So then where do the cavemen fit into this picture? Am I supposed to toss the book of Genesis out the window as some fable written thousands of years ago and conform to the modern developments in evolutionary psychology? Darwin preached that genetic mutations that occur in a gene pool that enable an organism to better thrive in an environment are passed on to offspring. It is very likely that there were enough genetic mutations within the human lineage to alter the vocal cords, enabling us to form a more expansive vocabulary. However there is simply too much planned out in the universe that comes perfectly together for me to ignore the possibility of a divine hand at work in our world.