| CODE | LAS2056 | ||||||
| TITLE | The Biology of Struggle: Evolutionary Insights into Everyday Problem | ||||||
| UM LEVEL | H - Higher Level | ||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | ||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Centre for the Liberal Arts and Sciences | ||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Living poses a number of problems. Although our current style of living protects us from the dangers that our ancestors faced, everyone has, at some point or another, encountered what Darwin called the “hostile forces of nature” – adverse climate, food shortages, toxins, diseases, and hostile people. As we struggle to cope with “adaptive problems” – securing food, fighting off disease, and caring for the young – we also have to fight back the effects of behavioural responses of evolved psychological mechanisms – think of anxiety, depression, weight gain, difficulties in parenting, conflict between family members, aggression in groups, discrimination, and failure in personal and business relationships. Living poses a number of problems. Although our current style of living protects us from the dangers that our ancestors faced, everyone has, at some point or another, encountered what Darwin called the “hostile forces of nature” – adverse climate, food shortages, toxins, diseases, and hostile people. As we struggle to cope with “adaptive problems” – securing food, fighting off disease, and caring for the young – we also have to fight back the effects of behavioural responses of evolved psychological mechanisms – think of anxiety, depression, weight gain, difficulties in parenting, conflict between family members, aggression in groups, discrimination, and failure in personal and business relationships. Biology has the answer. This unit takes a brand new look at how these mechanisms form part of a universal human nature, and how, if we wish to chart our destiny and steer away from the automatic control dictated by our in-built biochemical algorithms, we must turn to the same biology that, today, provides the big insights to hack the human mind and drive progress in artificial intelligence and machine learning, but that has, in the past, shaped our evolutionary history and equipped us with solutions. Topics are structured around a number of problems humans face in the modern environment – suffering from anxiety and depression, struggling with conflicts, grappling with self-esteem, battling excess weight, fighting competition, challenging consumerism, dealing with aggressive behavior, coming to terms with jealousy and facing problems with parenting – which, in contrast to that experienced by our ancestors, is more crowded, complex, and very often gives us very delayed responses to our actions. The approach taken in this unit adopts a knowledge-based awareness of our evolutionary legacy that gives students the power to change their behaviour and to live a more meaningful and happier life. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the Unit the student will be able to: - Describe the basic principles of evolutionary theory and evolutionary psychology; - Explain the fundamentals of the evolutionary biology of phenomena such as fear and anxiety, excess weight, aggression, personality traits, maternity, parental care, gender bias, consumerism, etc.; - Describe the mechanisms behind these phenomena, and recognise the value of adaptations by natural and sexual selection, as well as how these adaptations can lead to suffering and disorders; - Discuss human behaviour in terms of emotions and actions and how different strategies can be chosen for a life that is less burdened by modern problems and more consistent with the happiness of natural living. 2. Skills: By the end of the Unit the student will be able to: - Identify and apply fundamental principles and skills in evolutionary biology to common issues, conditions and phenomena, such as self-esteem, consumer behaviour and parental care; - Design his/her personal space and strategies in order to lead a more balanced and successful life across all domains – family, friends, and business partners. - Run internal cost-benefit analysis for situations and opportunities that can create conflict and stress, and choose to adopt the most feasible behaviour that guarantees him/her maximum benefit at minimal personal cost. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main texts: - BUSS, D. M., 2015. Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind. Fifth Edition. USA: Taylor & Francis. - MILLER, G., 2009. Spent. Sex, Evolution and Consumer Behavior. USA: Penguin Books. - CAMPBELL, A., 2002. A Mind of Her Own: The Evolutionary Psychology of Women. Second Edition. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. - WILSON, E. O., 2004. On Human Nature Second Edition. USA: Harvard University Press. - BARKOW, J. H., COSMIDES, L. and TOOBY, J. (Editors), 1995. The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and the Generation of Culture. New York: Oxford University Press. Supplementary readings: - WILSON, E. O., 2000. Sociobiology: The New Synthesis. 25th Anniversary Edition. USA: Harvard University Press. - MILLER, G., 2001. The Mating Mind. How Sexual Choice Shaped the Evolution of Human Nature. Great Britain: Vintage. - PINKER, S., 2002. The Blank Slate. The Modern Denial of Human Nature. USA: Penguin Books. - BROWNE, K., R., 2002. Biology at Work: Rethinking Sexual Equality. USA: Rutgers University Press. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Sonya Sammut |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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