演化思維與社會理論：以Steven Pinker與Jared Diamond的暴力論述為例

Evolutionary Thinking and Social Theory: Steven Pinker’s and Jared Diamond’s Theory of Violence

Steven Pinker和Jared Diamond先後提出「現代社會較傳統社會和平」的觀點，並大量使用（演化）生物學與認知科學概念來建構理論，引發社會學、人類學界的許多批評。部分爭議來自於他們將一般被視為生物學範疇的演化思維運用於解釋人類社會。然而，近年來的許多研究已告訴我們：以變異、遺傳（複製）、選擇等抽象原則構成的「一般化達爾文主義」等理論架構，已能應用於生物現象「之外」的人文社會現象。據此，本文藉助「一般化達爾文主義」的架構，細緻地勾勒Pinker和Diamond如何將演化思維應用在暴力理論，並處理人文社會學界對他們的批評。此外，本文也嘗試提出演化思維可能如何啟發社會科學界對暴力與現代性等議題的思考。

 

Steven Pinker and Jared Diamond successively advanced the thesis that modern society is more peaceful than traditional society. They employed extensive arguments from evolutionary biology and cognitive science to develop their theories, which have received criticism from sociologists and anthropologists alike. Some believe that employing evolutionary theory to explain human society is highly controversial. Nevertheless, “generalized Darwinism,” a framework characterized by three abstract principles variation, inheritance, and selection has been applied to other disciplines. Thus, on the basis of a framework of generalized Darwinism, this study illustrates how Pinker and Diamond construct theories of violence through evolutionary thinking and how they are criticized by sociologists and anthropologists. Additionally, in this paper, evolutionary thinking is highlighted as an inspiration for reconsidering violence, modernity, and their interrelation.