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23Darwinism and the cultural evolution of sportsPerspectives in Biology and Medicine 52 (1): 1-16. 2008.Evolutionary theory has gained some ground in the social sciences, but not without resistance. It must be said that at least some of the resistance on the part of social scientists is justified insofar as social and cultural phenomena such as sports are often much more complex than many evolutionary theorists seem to think. We propose in this paper an evolutionary approach to sports that takes into account its profoundly cultural character, thereby overcoming the traditional nature-culture dicho…Read more
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21Creatief met seksualiteit: Over de onmogelijkheid Van een freudiaanse sublimeringstheorieTijdschrift Voor Filosofie 65 (3): 415-437. 2003.Sublimation is usually defined as a defense-mechanism that desexualizes the sexual instincts. This desexualization then results in socio-cultural activities and psychic health. That means that sublimation is a crucial concept for psychoanalytic thinking, because it seems to connect the Freudian metapsychology with both applied psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic therapy. However, in this article I argue that within Freud's theory sublimation is an empty and redundant concept. It is a redundant con…Read more
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20The dynamics of science: computational frontiers in history and philosophy of science (edited book)University of Pittsburgh Press. 2022.Millions of scientific articles are published each year, making it difficult to stay abreast of advances within even the smallest subdisciplines. Traditional approaches to the study of science, such as the history and philosophy of science, involve closely reading a relatively small set of journal articles. And yet many questions benefit from casting a wider net: Is most scientific change gradual or revolutionary? What are the key sources of scientific novelty? Over the past several decades, a m…Read more
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19En evolutionair geloof? Over 'intelligent design', darwinisme en theïsmeBijdragen 69 (1): 3-17. 2008.Both the so-called high priests of atheism and the proponents of Intelligent Design argue that the Darwinian theory of evolution is more problematic for theism than any other scientific theory. Against the grain of most contemporary philosophers and theologians, I contend that their arguments are largely correct. Moreover, neo-Darwinism is especially threatening the soft theism or deism, defended by Darwin and several of the most prominent Darwinian theorists . For the proponents of ID, this imp…Read more
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18Mating games: cultural evolution and sexual selectionBiology and Philosophy 22 (4): 475-491. 2007.In this paper, we argue that mating games, a concept that denotes cultural practices characterized by a competitive element and an ornamental character, are essential drivers behind the emergence and maintenance of human cultural practices. In order to substantiate this claim, we sketch out the essential role of the game’s players and audience, as well as the ways in which games can mature and turn into relatively stable cultural practices. After outlining the life phase of mating games – their …Read more
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14Scientific activities strongly depend on concepts and classifications to represent the world in an orderly and workable manner. This creates a trade-off. On the one hand, it is important to leave space for conceptual and classificatory criticism. On the other hand, agreement on which concepts and classifications to use, is often crucial for communication and the integration of research and ideas. In this paper, we show that this trade-off can sometimes be best resolved through conceptual governa…Read more
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14The co-evolution of nativist beliefs and tolerant attitudesASEBL Journal 12 (1): 27-29. 2016.Commentary on Lesly Newson and Peter Richerson, Moral Beliefs about Homosexuality: Testing a Cultural Evolutionary Hypothesis
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14The Organism-Centered Approach to Cultural EvolutionTopoi 35 (1): 283-290. 2016.In this paper, we distinguish two different approaches to cultural evolution. One approach is meme-centered, the other organism-centered. We argue that in situations in which the meme- and organism-centered approaches are competing alternatives, the organism-centered approach is in many ways superior. Furthermore, the organism-centered approach can go a long way toward understanding the evolution of institutions. Although the organism-centered approach is preferable for a broad class of situatio…Read more
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13Doomed by nature: The inevitable failure of our naturally selected functionsPhilosophy, Psychiatry, and Psychology 12 (4): 343-348. 2005.
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11Chapter 25. Harmless Dysfunctions and the Problem of Normal VariationIn Luc Faucher & Denis Forest (eds.), Defining Mental Disorders: Jerome Wakefield and his Critics, Mit Press. pp. 495-510. 2021.In one of his key publications on the harmful dysfunction analysis of mental disorder (HDA), Jerome Wakefield acknowledged that he has “explored the value element in disorder less thoroughly than the factual element. This is in part because the factual component poses more of a problem for inferences about disorder and in part because the nature of values is such that it requires separate consideration” (Wakefield 1992, 384). More than twenty years have passed since this remark, and yet a thorou…Read more
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9Towards a Critique of Normalization: Canguilhem and BoorseIn Darian Meacham (ed.), Medicine and Society, New Perspectives in Continental Philosophy, Springer Verlag. 2015.
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9Freud as an'evolutionary psychiatrist'and the foundations of a Freudian philosophyPhilosophy, Psychiatry, and Psychology 12 (4): 315-324. 2005.
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6Is the Cannibal a Good Sport?In Fritz Allhoff, Jesús Ilundáin‐Agurruza & Michael W. Austin (eds.), Cycling ‐ Philosophy for Everyone, Wiley‐blackwell. 2010-09-24.This chapter contains sections titled: The Cannibal Culpable Cannibalism? Winning the Right Way In Control Even after a Blowout Last Pedal Strokes … Notes.
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Why philosophers of psychiatry should care about evolutionary theoryIn Pieter R. Adriaens & Andreas de Block (eds.), Maladapting Minds: Philosophy, Psychiatry, and Evolutionary Theory, Oxford University Press. 2011.
Areas of Specialization
Health and Illness |
Philosophy of Psychiatry and Psychopathology |
Value-Free Science |