Der epistemologisch Vorbelastete weiß, es gibt nichts erkenntnisfördernderes als fundierte Kritik von Theorien, die einem interessant erscheinen, wie etwa die neuen von der Evolutionstheorie ausgehenden psychologischen Modelle.
Das moderne Evolutionskonzept bietet tatsächlich eine Fülle von Einsichten in verschiedene Fragestellungen. Steven Pinker stellte diese in den Mittelpunkt seines neuen Buchs, „The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature“. Er schadet seine Sache eher als er ihr nützt, meint H. Allen Orr* in seinem ausgezeichneten Artikel in der New York Review of Books Nr. 3/2003. Seine Kritik ist im besten Sinne analytisch, hier ein Beispiel:
Take this statement: „History and culture, then, can be grounded in psychology, which can be grounded in computation, neuroscience, genetics, and evolution.“ This is one of Pinker’s big conclusions. But it might mean several very different things. One is that culture is made from minds which are made from neurons which are made by genes. This is undeniable. Another is that culture is made from minds that have been hardwired by genes to have certain contents—to think certain thoughts, say—a stronger claim. Yet another is that culture is made from minds that have been shaped by natural selection to think certain thoughts because those thoughts maximized the number of children ancestral thinkers had on the savanna and so gave them an evolutionary advantage over those who did not think such thoughts. This claim is stronger still.
This ambiguity comes in handy. If Pinker senses doubt about a strong version of his claims, he can adroitly slip into a defense of a weak version. Are you feeling uneasy about the notion that culture can be reduced to neurons and genes? But surely you admit that „culture relies on neural circuitry that accomplishes the feat we call learning“? Surely you acknowledge that „culture could not exist without mental faculties that allow humans to create and learn.“ Well, of course you do.
* Der Artikel ist mittlerweile Teil des kostenpflichtigen Archivs der NYRB.
