Fantastic story Steve. Good on you. And an inspiring story as well. Being a scientist in the field of evolutionary psychology the freedom to write what you want is nowadays invaluable. I look forward to your road ahead. There are so many lessons to be learned also for my field pedagogical sciences/rearing children where the Blank Slate is sadly still alive and well. The main reason I started my own Substack-newsletter: to enlighten the Dutch. Thanks for all the inspiration (The Ape That Understood the Universe is a personal favourite), walk on, and good luck with the Nature-Nurture-Nietzsche Newsletter.
One of the giants of primatology the Dutch-American ethologist Frans de Waal - who sadly passed away last year - made a bold prediction in 2002:
"I dare predict that 50 years from now every psychology department will have Darwin's bearded portrait on the wall. Evolutionary approaches have the potential to produce a conceptual framework that will accommodate or replace the proliferation of disconnected theories in the study of human behavior"
de Waal, F. B. M. (2002). Evolutionary Psychology: The Wheat and the Chaff. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11(6), 187-191. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.00197
We are not there yet, but I can see the Grand Old Man already smiling.
Fantastic story Steve. Good on you. And an inspiring story as well. Being a scientist in the field of evolutionary psychology the freedom to write what you want is nowadays invaluable. I look forward to your road ahead. There are so many lessons to be learned also for my field pedagogical sciences/rearing children where the Blank Slate is sadly still alive and well. The main reason I started my own Substack-newsletter: to enlighten the Dutch. Thanks for all the inspiration (The Ape That Understood the Universe is a personal favourite), walk on, and good luck with the Nature-Nurture-Nietzsche Newsletter.
One of the giants of primatology the Dutch-American ethologist Frans de Waal - who sadly passed away last year - made a bold prediction in 2002:
"I dare predict that 50 years from now every psychology department will have Darwin's bearded portrait on the wall. Evolutionary approaches have the potential to produce a conceptual framework that will accommodate or replace the proliferation of disconnected theories in the study of human behavior"
de Waal, F. B. M. (2002). Evolutionary Psychology: The Wheat and the Chaff. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11(6), 187-191. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.00197
We are not there yet, but I can see the Grand Old Man already smiling.
Thanks, Hans! I really appreciate the comment. That's a great quote from de Waal. I think he's write, and I hope it happens sooner rather than later.
All the best!