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Perverse Engineering

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Chris Haufe
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Abstract

Evolutionary psychologists, among others, have used a method called “reverse engineering” to uncover (a) whether a trait was selected for, and (b) if so, why that trait was selected for. In this paper I argue that reverse engineering cannot deliver on either (a) or (b), and tends to pervert, rather than enhance, our knowledge of natural history. In particular, I expose as false a fundamental assumption of reverse engineering—namely, that all traits selected for a particular function will share some nontrivial properties.

Type
Research Article
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 75 , Issue 4 , October 2008 , pp. 437 - 446
Copyright
Copyright © The Philosophy of Science Association

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Footnotes

‡

Many thanks to Philip Kitcher, Patricia Kitcher, and Alison Wylie for insightful recommendations. Special thanks also to Maysan Haydar for her substantive and editorial contributions.

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