PsychoDarwinism: The New Synthesis of Darwin and Freud
by Christopher Badcock
Review by Anthony Bullivant
Charles Darwin and Sigmund Freud have been toted as two of the greatest minds in history, with their ideas having had great influence on the shape of modern thought. Despite their fame today, both men have been subjected to extreme criticism over the years due to the revolutionary nature of their theories. However, as the world community continues it’s pursuit of absolute knowledge it has become clear that a new theoretical revolution looms, and as Darwin himself wrote in his acclaimed work On the Origin of Species ‘…old forms will be supplanted by new and improved forms’.
Christopher Badcock has attempted to aid this evolution of theory by taking on the arduous task of uniting the ideas of Darwin and Freud. This book is in fact the amalgamation of a decades work attempting to unify the two men. He has a belief in returning to the scientific facts of Darwinism and Freudian psychoanalysis as he feels that, like much of the world today, these fields have lost their true meaning in a plea for social acceptance.
Badcock has set himself a challenging task as the works of Freud and Darwin are often represented as being theoretically conflicting. These ideological differences are exemplified via an examination of their views on human behaviour. Darwin held a firm belief in ‘nature’ as the major determinant of human behaviour, whereas Freud is often seen as advocating the role of ‘nurture’. However, Badcock claims that this is one of many instances where Darwin and Freud have been ‘misunderstood, misrepresented and misinterpreted’, and if these surface disparities / interpretive discrepancies can be overcome then the flood-gates will be opened for a full-fledged reconciliation.
Badcock eases into achieving his synthesis by first looking at the areas of evolutionary biology and psychoanalysis separately. One of the problems in attempting to understand the evolutionary process is that one is unlikely to be aware of it whilst it is taking place; the changes being so incidental that they remain invisible unless viewed from a transgenerational perspective. However, Badcock manages to illustrate the process of evolution from a Darwinian perspective by employing the use of a computer program, the EVOLV-O-MATIC. The program involves a world of bug like creatures, each of which is ‘genetically’ inclined to certain movement patterns in the search for food and reproductive success. As the bugs go about their predetermined paths some species fade into extinction whilst others species continue to propagate. Although simple in design, the simulation is quite effective at demonstrating the essentials of natural selection. The programme is in a sense a computerised representation of Daniel Dennett’s ‘algorithmic process’, but with the accompaniment of Badcock’s elucidating literary style.
The next few chapters of the book are dedicated to clarifying some of Freud’s theories of the human mind. At this stage the book does become a little conceptually overwhelming as Badcock delves into such complex issues as Freud’s Id-Ego-Superego model of human consciousness. However, just as Badcock appears to have lost sight of the book’s purpose he manages to tie Freud’s model into the evolution of genes.
As would be expected from any work involving Freud the topic eventually turns to sex. Freud’s view of sexuality in evolution, although the subject of much criticism in the past, actually shares a resemblance to the Darwinian view; this link, however, appears to have been eroded by decades of misinterpretation. Badcock attempts to dispel the notion that sex exists ‘for the benefit of the species’ as he is somewhat cynical of how greatly altruism factors into the rationale of reproduction, and evolution in general. This demise of altruism is similarly discussed as a theme of Andrew Brown’s The Darwin Wars (1999).
One area of reproduction which is thought to be founded on selflessness is the bond formed between parent and child. Whilst Badcock doesn’t dispute the existence of this ‘kin altruism’ he is sceptical as to its motivational source. Freud was of the opinion that ‘Parental love, which is so moving and at bottom so childish, is nothing but the parents’ narcissism born again’. Badcock elaborates on this notion that altruistic behaviour towards relatives is simply an attempt to secure the survival of common genes, a view which draws parallels to the thesis of Richard Dawkins’ The Selfish Gene (1976).
Darwin’s work on sexual motivation, in particular The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex (1871), has long been overshadowed by his less controversial work on evolution. Many detractors of Darwin’s theory of sexual selection state that the focus should be on the ‘survival and the well-being of the organism’ but they fail to realise that ‘ultimately only reproductive success counts in natural selection’.
Badcock suggests that this disregard for Darwin’s notion of sexual selection is due to a flaw in the communication of some of its fundamentals. Darwin's natural selection theory is largely thought to be based around the concept of ‘survival of the fittest’, however, the term was coined by Herbert Spencer (1820-1903). Although the concept does have relevance to evolution it brings with it numerous associations which are also ascribed to Darwin, obscuring his true message.
The male peacock is a fine example of how the ‘survival of the fittest’ is not the major factor in natural selection. The brilliance of the feathers of a peacock’s tail are often the deciding element in a peahen choosing a mate, but the same plumage may make the bird more conspicuous to a predator. The fact that the propensity for bright plumage has continued across generations shows that the safety of the bird has been sacrificed on a genetic level in exchange for greater reproductive success. This recognition that the organism is only an expendable vehicle for it’s genes explains why ‘fitness’ is merely a means to an end.
Darwin’s sexual selection theory is also relevant in a human context and coincides with possibly Freud’s most controversial theory, the Oedipus complex. In the case of male children, mothers generally choose attractive mates and therefore it could be expected that their son would be the sum of their attractiveness and should be equally as capable of attracting a mate. The mother therefore nurtures her son, as his reproductive success will indirectly ensure the continuation of her genetic line. This relates back to the Oedipus complex as the son strives to approve his appealingness to his mother and as such, validate her attentiveness. Badcocks’ interpretation is a far cry from the incestuous stigma that the theory has carried and as such has gained a new evolutionary relevance.
The female Oedipus complex is not as clear, a fact which points to a gender difference in behavioural motivation. Women can only reproduce on a limited time frame, with a 9-month gestation period, and therefore a father’s investment in his daughter would show fewer dividends than a mother-son investment. It is only a few steps from there to the highly contentious Freudian theory of penis envy, with the penis being symbolic of the male potential for lifetime reproductive success, vastly in excess to that of a female.
Badcock constantly tests the boundaries of evolutionary theory and questions the conventional viewpoints. His view that Darwin and Freud both anticipated that natural selection is based on the reproductive success of individual genes has been arrived at via a series of steps, many of which have not been well received.
Many of Freud’s ideas have been ridiculed in the past but Badcock has placed
them in a new light. This revolutionary rehabilitation has been largely aided by the application of Darwinian concepts, living up to their title as a ‘universal acid’ (Dennett, Darwin’s Dangerous Idea) capable of getting to the crux of any problem. It appears that some of the best steps forward are achieved by taking a few steps back.
PsychoDarwinism draws on the strengths of Darwinism and Freudian thought to help explain the interaction between genes and human behaviour. Some aspects of the theory are contentious and even a little contrived, however, by challenging the norms and raising forgotten issues Badcock’s ideas can only serve to stimulate a debate which has in recent years become quite stagnant.
Badcock writes in an easily digestible manner that leaves the reader hungry for more. An excellent supplement to any study of evolutionary thought. PsychoDarwinism is full of revelations with each page a source of enlightenment. Badcock has managed a remarkable unification of Darwin and Freud that has resulted in the brilliant and provocative synthesis which is PsychoDarwinism