The matching problem: a philosophical analysis
Subrena Smith; Matching Problem; Evolutionary Psychology; Natural Selection
The Matching Problem is an objection raised by philosopher Subrena Smith against Evolutionary Psychology, a field that has been gaining prominence and attracting the attention of academics interested in biological considerations about the human mind. Evolutionary Psychology is the realization of the Darwinian project of using the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection to construct explanations for the evolution a few psychological characteristics of our species. According to Subrena, the Matching Problem is a methodological problem of inference that would make it impossible to carry out research in the area. Evolutionary psychologists, and other practitioners in the field, do not have a method that makes their inferences about the evolution of human psychological structures safe. The aim of this work is to offer a response to the Matching Problem and other objections raised by Subrena Smith against Evolutionary Psychology. To do this we will visit the methodology available to practitioners of Evolutionary Psychology to build and test the hypotheses raised by them about the evolution of our psychology. In the end, we would like to defend the idea that the problem raised by Subrena is not an impediment to the work of evolutionary psychologists, as she thinks. We would like to advocate here for the possibility of Evolutionary Psychology as a field of scientific research, which places us in a radically different position from that suggested by Subrena Smith.