Killer Apes, Naked Apes, and Just Plain Nasty People: The Misuse and Abuse of Science in Political Discourse

Perry (“Race” and Racism), emeritus professor of anthropology at St. Lawrence University, takes on an exciting, critical, and complex topic in this book, focusing on the evils he sees in evolutionary psychology. He attempts to make three major points: “human behavior, while limited in certain respects by our biological heritage, is not fixed, programmed or biologically determined”; all “new” claims of biological determinism are neither new nor scientifically sound; and understanding these first two points are critical to ensure that we make meaningful public policy. Based on our history of misappropriating and misunderstanding science to promote the desires of those in power, including social Darwinism and eugenics, Perry’s warnings are well-intended and worthy of attention. His examinations of these situations, while somewhat cursory, are informative. His critique of evolutionary psychology, however, leaves much to be desired. Problems arise because he presents caricatures rather than deeper analyses of the claims made by proponents. To claim that advocates have “gotten the present wrong; they’ve gotten the Pleistocene wrong; and the rest is pretty much fantasy” may make for good polemics, but it doesn’t increase understanding. Perry makes assumptions about what evolutionary psychologists believe, but he has otherwise identified a real problem. [em](Sept.) [/em]