Authors:
Advances highly original theory of the ultimate basis of negative trends associated with modernity
Unites prior work in psychometrics, evolutionary psychology, and evolutionary biology
Critically assesses various competing explanations and perspectives
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Table of contents (8 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
About this book
This book argues that despite the many real advantages that industrial modernity has yielded—including large gains in wealth, longevity, and (possibly) happiness—it has occurred together with the appearance of a variety of serious problems. Chief among these are probable losses in subjective existential purpose and increases in psychopathology. A highly original theory of the ultimate basis of these trends is advanced, which unites prior work in psychometrics and evolutionary science. This theory builds on the social epistasis amplification model to argue that genetic and epigenetic changes in modernizing and modernized populations, stemming from shifts in selective pressures related to industrialization, have lowered human fitness and wellness.
Keywords
- Evolutionary Psychology
- Behaviorial Genetics
- Modernity
- Nihilism
- Social Epistasis
- Declinism
Authors and Affiliations
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Amherst, USA
Matthew Alexandar Sarraf
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Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Ixelles, Belgium
Michael Anthony Woodley of Menie
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Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK
Colin Feltham
About the authors
Matthew Alexandar Sarraf is a researcher in the areas of psychometrics, evolutionary psychology, and behavior genetics.
Michael Anthony Woodley of Menie, Yr., is a geneticist and ecologist. He is a Lifetime Fellow at the Center Leo Apostel for Interdisciplinary Studies, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium.
Colin Feltham is Emeritus Professor of Critical Counselling Studies at Sheffield Hallam University, UK.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Modernity and Cultural Decline
Book Subtitle: A Biobehavioral Perspective
Authors: Matthew Alexandar Sarraf, Michael Anthony Woodley of Menie, Colin Feltham
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32984-6
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and Psychology, Behavioral Science and Psychology (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-32983-9Published: 17 December 2019
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-32986-0Published: 17 December 2020
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-32984-6Published: 05 December 2019
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XI, 307
Number of Illustrations: 5 b/w illustrations
Topics: Biological Psychology, Psychopathology, Medical Genetics, Social Theory