Evolution And Feminism: The Ghost Hovering Over Psychology

The ideology of evolutionism and feminism has put significant impacts onpsychology individually and its result is forming evolutionary psychology andfeminist psychology in the field of psychology. Fierce conflicts have been outbrokenafter the two emerging. This paper regards the reason why conflicts being outbrokenas an entry point to analysis realization process of evolutionism and feminism inpsychology， the opposition part between evolutionary psychology and feministpsychology in human nature, value and research content, also the external force of thetwo and thoughts of research target, subject properties and research purpose triggeredby the opposite.The procedures of impacts on evolutionism and femininism can be generallydivided into three stages: theory percolation in early phase, foundation of subjects anddevelopment in new period. Evolutionism is a theory of biology while feminism is aideological trend of politics, the two has achieved their influences on psychologyfrom different view. The realization process has close relevance with the changeableof research objects and uncertainty of subject properties and hope throughpsychological research content to serve each social purpose.The opposite parts between evolutionary psychology and feminist psychologycan be shown in human nature, value and research content these threedimensionalities. The two opposite, in human nature, shows the opposite betweennatural human nature and social human nature; in value, shows the opposite betweenvalue neutrality and value involve; while in research content, shows the differentunderstanding of gender difference.The external force which promote the evolutionary psychology and feministpsychology is consisted by three parts: first, the duality of human life property is theexternal power of human nature’s opposite; second, conflict between scientificdoctrine and human-culture doctrine is the external force of their value; third, the conflict of two different social purpose is the external force of both specific researchconflicts.The debate between feminist psychology and evolutionary psychology broughtrethink of psychological research object, the property of the subject and researchpurposes: First, there should be a special object of studying psychology, this is the"mental life” based on psychological material and society; second, psychology shouldbe a comprehensive subject concentrate on living person’s mental life; third, the mostfundamental aim of psychological research should be improving the mental quality oflife.