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They F*** you up: an interview with Oliver James: British psychologist and author Oliver James discusses the political implications of evolutionary psychology.

Article Excerpt
Oliver James is an English child psychologist, writer and television documentary producer. He is a critic of evolutionary perspectives on psychology, a regular commentator in the British media and writes a health column for The Observer. Articles such as 'So, George, how do you feel about your mum and dad?', which appeared in The Guardian in 2003, analysing George Bush's personality as a product of his upbringing, have earned him a controversial reputation. He has appeared as himself in 'Celebrity Naked Ambition' (2003) and 'The Frasier Story' (1999). His books include Juvenile Violence in a Winner-Loser Culture (Free Association Books, 1995) and the bestselling Britain on the Couch--Why We're Unhappier than We Were in 1950 Despite Being Richer (Arrow, 1998), also a successful documentary series on Channel 4. His latest book, They F*** You Up--How to Survive Family Life (Bloomsbury, 2002) explores how family life shapes the people we become.

Arena Magazine: You reserve some of your strongest criticisms for people who attempt to explain social and personal development in evolutionary terms. What's the core of your criticism?

Oliver James: Evolutionary psychology is a very recent development that basically argues that almost anything in modern life is understandable as being a consequence of how we adapted to life in the primordial swamp. In other words, to take a very simple example, women are attracted to older men because they're more likely to accrue resources and be powerful and strong. Therefore, they're more likely to fight off sabre-toothed tigers and be able to go out and hunt and gather more successfully than younger men and also because they have power over other men. Meanwhile, men are attracted to the nubility of women because it's a signal of fertility in the primordial swamp.

Of course, this may or may not be true, but whatever the...

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