Peacocks, Penknives and Power

ABSTRACT

This article conceptualizes evolutionary theory as a bridge between existing theorizing in strategic communication on the one hand, the mind sciences on the other. It discusses six core concepts of evolutionary psychology that have a bearing on strategic communication theory: a) the human as a highly flexible social species; b) the regulation of individually-minded vs. collectively-minded behavior; c) advanced, symbolic communication as a mode of regulation and its second-order problems; d) a consilient conceptualization of communication; e) evolutionary psychology’s role as a heuristic; and f) the limits of cognitive capacity and the role of heuristic shortcuts. The article concludes with a note on the theory of science in strategic communication research and cautions against the common misunderstanding of evolutionary psychology’s agenda.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

¹ Sponges are generally considered the simplest multi-cellular animals. They begin their lives as animals but once they settle down, they reduce their complexity to the point of resembling plants – in popular parlance, they digest their own brain and become vegetables. As the old biologist joke goes, they resemble academics who get tenure in that respect.