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"Love of Shopping" is Not a Gene: Problems With Darwinian Psychology

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If ever there was a time for a critique of run-away evolutionary psychology, now would be that time, but this book is not a critique. It is politically charged rant!
The entire premise of the book does not make any sense. In her introduction, she writes, "I shall show in this book that although Darwinian psychology has been a fruitful topic in biology, Darwinian psychology for human beings has not." What a ludicrous statement! Human beings are animals! We are biological beings with an evolutionary heritage. She goes on to disparage evolutionary psychology in the most unequivocal terms for page after page, ignoring the mass amounts of evidence that support the hypothesis that our psychology is highly affected by our evolutionary past.

I found this book misrepresented Darwinian psychology. The title intrigued me, and I approached it thinking that I would enjoy it. The author paints Darwinian psychology with broad negative statements, often damning people supportive of her "theories" and heaping praise on those that support her. Her negative portrayal of the theory was so steeped in vehemence that it made me more curious about her than it did about what she was saying.

I'm guessing that she grew up with the argument that it's either Nature or Nurture that determines psychology. The modern consensus suggests to me that it is both and pitting the two against each other was a mistake. A mistake the author couldn't get past.

I can't say I've wanted to throw a book away in a long time, but I can now.