Causation and Behavior: The Necessity and Benefits of Incorporating Evolutionary Thinking into Political Science

Jordan Mansell

Social Science Quarterly, 2020, vol. 101, issue 5, 1677-1698

Abstract: Political science now recognizes that both biological and social factors are significant to the expression of political phenomena. While necessary, this development has significant theoretical and methodological consequences. The recognition of biological and social factors complicates, rather than simplifies, the study of political phenomena by requiring a more complex model of behavioral causation.Objective.To adapt to this complexity, political science must familiarize itself with the study of behavior in the life and evolutionary sciences and adopt a consilient behavioral model. Method.To assist with this development, this article familiarizes political scientists with the principles on causation as they relate to behavior. It also reviews the most common approaches to studying behavioral causation in the evolutionary sciences. Conclusion.The article discusses the practical benefits of incorporating evolutionary thinking into the study of politics, including the importance of evolutionary thinking for problems of omitted variable bias.

Date: 2020
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