Who's Afraid of Charles Darwin?: Debating Feminism and Evolutionary Theory

by Griet Vandermassen

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Author: Griet Vandermassen

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Paperback:
ISBN 10: 074254351X
ISBN 13: 978-0742543515

Why should feminism and the biological sciences be at odds? And what might be gained from a reconciliation? In Who's Afraid of Charles Darwin? Vandermassen shows that, rather than continuing this enmity, feminism and the biological sciences--and in particular evolutionary psychology--have the need and the potential to become powerful allies. Properly understood, the Darwinian perspective proposed in this volume will become essential to tackling the major issues in feminism.

Review

Vandermassen demonstrates the power and elegance of Darwinian modes of explanation of the range and diversity of sex differences and, in doing so, has opened up a new form of feminist theory. (Elizabeth Grosz, Jean Fox O'Barr Women's Studies Professor, Duke University)

Griet Vandermassen's splendidly readable book should inform and inspire not only feminists but anyone who cares about science―its methods, its objectivity, its history, and its place in society. (Helena Cronin, Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science, London School of Economics)

This very readable book should pave the way for a more informed debate and some degree of reconciliation between feminists and evolutionary biologists. (Biologist)

Griet Vandermassen provides the most comprehensive treatment to date of the 150-year-long saga of marginalization, mutual suspicion, misunderstanding, misrepresentation, and missed opportunities between biology and feminist thinking. It is my hope that Vandermassen's remarkable book will remind evolutionary biologists of the contributions that feminists have made and challenge a new generation of feminist scholars to re-engage and integrate evolutionary perspectives into their understanding of the human condition. (Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, author of Mother Nature: A History of Mothers, Infants, and Natural Selection (1999) and The Woman That Never Evolved (1981))

A book that would spark much discussion in evolutionary psychology and women's studies courses. (Sex Roles: A Journal of Research)

About the Author

Griet Vandermassen is a philosopher and research assistant at the Centre for Gender Studies, University of Ghent, Belgium, where she is currently completing her doctoral studies. She has written on evolutionary psychology, feminist theory, and the history and philosophy of science in such publications as the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, European Journal of Women's Studies, and the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology.