Biology, Essentialism Quiz PDF

Slides 17: Key Concepts in Intuitive Biology 1. Ethnoscience & Folk Biology Ethnoscience is the study of cultural knowledge about the natural world, including fields like ethno-botany and folk medicine. Folk biology refers to intuitive and culturally shared biological knowledge, which is especial...

Slides 17: Key Concepts in Intuitive Biology 1. Ethnoscience & Folk Biology Ethnoscience is the study of cultural knowledge about the natural world, including fields like ethno-botany and folk medicine. Folk biology refers to intuitive and culturally shared biological knowledge, which is especially common in non-Western cultures and can provide insights into medicinal practices and ecological systems. 2. Distinctive Properties of Living Things - Reproduction: organisms produce offspring - Complexity: biological systems are intricate and multilayered - Irreversible Patterns: growth and development follow specific, irreversible paths - Intrinsic Features: essential traits define observable properties - Homeostasis: biological entities regulate themselves internally 3. Human Cognition and Biology Knowledge of biology developed due to early human foraging needs, focusing on nutrition, toxicity avoidance, and resource seasonality. This understanding was essential for hunting and gathering, influencing human evolution. 4. Biological Taxonomies Folk taxonomies are structured in nested categories that resemble scientific classifications, such as poodle < dog < mammal. Key levels include: - Folk-kingdom: broadest level, such as animals and plants - Life-forms: general groupings, like fish, mammals, or trees - Generic Species: common species, for example, dog or oak - Folk-specific: particular types within a species, such as Amur Tiger - Folk-varietal: specific varieties within a species, like a toy poodle 5. Concepts and Mental Representation Prototypes are typical examples that represent categories, leading to "fuzzy" or graded membership in these groups. Essentialism is the belief that members of a species share an "essence" that explains their features. This type of thinking applies primarily to natural categories, not usually to man-made objects. 6. Inductive Inference Taxonomic principles allow us to generalize properties from one member to the whole class, such as assuming if one cow has a placenta, all cows likely do. This principle supports reasoning and learning by inference within categories. 7. Children’s Understanding of Biological Categories Children naturally exhibit essentialist thinking and resist the idea of one species transforming into another, such as a dog turning into a cat. This tendency reflects an innate sense of essentialism specific to biological categories. Slides 18: 1. Ethnicity - Ethnic groups are social categories often based on features like language and religion. - Generally, these categories are exclusive, with most people belonging to only one. - There is often an assumption of common descent, inheritance, and unchangeable membership by birth. 2. Ethnocentrism - Ethnocentrism involves viewing one’s own culture as central and others as different, inferior, or exotic. - This "us vs. them" perspective is seen across societies and can manifest in language, stereotypes, cuisine, dress, and more. - Common examples include phrases like "God’s own country" or notions like "Manifest Destiny." 3. Essentialism and Social Categories - Essentialism in social categories means viewing certain groups as having inherent, unchangeable qualities. - Some social categories are treated like "species," with traits seen as biologically inherited and leading to endogamy (in-group marriage). - This can lead to stereotyping and social separation, as seen in cases like the "cagots" in France and Spain and blacksmith castes in West Africa. 4. Case Studies in Social Essentialism - Cagots: In medieval France and Spain, cagots were a marginalized group seen as inherently different, with stereotypes around traits like hypersexuality and dirtiness. This led to their social isolation and restricted roles. - Blacksmiths in West Africa: Often viewed as a distinct caste with stereotypes about appearance and behavior. Even as traditional blacksmithing declined, the social ostracism persisted, showing the impact of essentialist beliefs. - Hindu Caste System: In classical Hinduism, caste categories are viewed as natural and inherited, with distinctions in occupation, purity, and diet. Strict endogamy and segregation are maintained by beliefs in essential differences between castes. 5. Essentialism and Nationalism - Two main models for nation-building: - Non-ethnic model: A republic based on shared values and citizenship rather than ethnicity, as seen in the United States and post-revolutionary France. - Ethnic model: Nationhood based on common ancestry, language, and cultural history, often emphasizing jus sanguinis (right of blood) and seen in various European nationalist movements and in Japan’s nationalism from the 1890s to 1940s. 6. Essentialism's Limitations in Explaining Social Attitudes - Essentialist thinking explains some stereotypes and group distinctions but does not fully account for emotional responses like fear or hatred.  - It also struggles to explain "single drop" phenomena, where one group’s "essence" is viewed as stronger or more impactful, often negatively. - Essentialism might be a factor in attitudes but is only part of the explanation for complex social dynamics. Slides 19: 1. Cultural Theories of Disease - Across cultures, people detect illness as abnormal and have various explanations for it. - Common theories include: - Humorism: imbalance of bodily fluids (e.g., black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, blood) causing disease. - Miasma theory: belief in “poisoned air” or “foul air” spreading illness, present in both medieval Europe and some traditional cultures. 2. Intuitive Expectations about Disease and Contagion - People have automatic, non-reflective intuitions about disease, often involving assumptions such as: - Invisible vectors: diseases are caused by unseen entities (e.g., germs, “cooties”). - Any mode of contact can transmit disease, including touch, breath, and shared food. - Dose indifference: belief that even minimal contact with a disease vector can cause infection, which aligns with pathogen behavior but not all contaminants. 3. Evolutionary Background of Disease Avoidance - Throughout human evolution, exposure to toxins, bacteria, and parasites created a need for protective psychological responses. - The trade-off between hunger and disgust helped balance nutritional needs with avoidance of potential pathogens. - Disgust evolved as a reaction to harmful substances, contributing to survival by triggering avoidance behaviors. 4. Disgust as a Protective Mechanism - Disgust causes a visceral reaction involving changes like lowered heart rate and nausea, aimed at deterring contact with harmful substances. - Common disgust triggers include bodily fluids, rotten foods, insects, and parasites, all associated with potential pathogens. 5. Disgust Across Cultures - While disgust is a universal emotion with typical reactions, the triggers can vary by culture due to differences in dietary and hygiene practices. - Examples include disgust at certain foods, like grubs or fermented cheese, which may provide nutritional benefits but carry pathogen risks. 6. Development of Eating Preferences and Disgust - Children’s eating preferences and disgust reactions develop in stages: - Stage 1: Omnivorous, exploratory eating (under 2 years).  - Stage 2: Food separation and neophobia (2-5 years). - Stage 3: Increased aversion to new foods and concept of contagion (5-12 years). - Stage 4: Potentially more flexible tastes in adolescence and adulthood. 7. Disgust and Sexuality - Sex is commonly associated with both attraction and disgust due to its role in reproduction and pathogen transmission. - This paradox arises because sex involves physical contact that can facilitate pathogen spread, especially in warm, moist tissues where many pathogens thrive. - In high-pathogen environments, preferences may shift to emphasize physical health and attractiveness as markers of low infection risk.