Social Darwinism And Evolutionary Psychology

Freudian and Marxist views of art focus largely on the role of art in a cultural and societal context. Darwinain views of art focus primarily art as an adaptive biological function. The development of creativity and the development of modern humans does not coincide linearly. The capacity for creativity and art were present in anatomically modern humans, before modern humans invested energy into the creation of art. The explosion of art occurred approximately 150,000 years ago, long after the development of the capabity to develop art. The increase in cranial capacity seems to correlate with greater cognitive function and development of early human culture. Homo erectus, which lived between 1.8 and 0.3 million years ago, had a cranial capacity

In “Darwinism, Evolutionary Psychology, and Mental Disorders,” Heather McDonough-Caplan touches on the possible adaptive function of mental disorders and fitness. Many studies have examined art and mental disorders. Studies have connected creativity with major mental illnesses such as, Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, Depression, Anxiety Disorder, and ADHD. Many famous figures, such as Ludwig van Beethoven, Ernest Hemingway, Isaac Newton, with creative talents were affected by bipolar disorder. It has been suggest that both creativity and psychosis requires thinking out of the box, surges of ideas, racing thoughts and ideas, increased perception of visual, auditory and somatic stimuli. In addition, art has some critical features that indicate cultural and behavioral adaptive functionality. (1) Art is observable cross-culturally. (2) Art is seen dating back to at least 100,000 years in our ancestors. (3) Art is easily fostered and seen in children (tiny humans move to music, sing, make marks, decorate themselves or other objects etc). (4) They are a source of pleasure and foster socializing, kinship, and social acceptance. Art fosters groups bonding. This includes smiling, laughing, playing, speaking. Art improves cognition by refining problem-solving skills and could result in making better adaptive choices. Some suggest creativity and the ability to produce art is an indicator of intelligence and problem solving, which would be selected for in Darwinian approach. The arts can be used as a mating opportunity to show desirable traits which would increase fitness. The ability to detect beauty is beneficial for mate selection and selecting mates with the best physical characteristics and reproductive success. In a study by Miller & Haselton, they found poor, male artists were more successful in short-term mating than their wealthy, less creative counterparts when females had a higher