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1、7TheEvolutionofAnimalBehavior:TheImpactoftheDarwinianRevolutionDarwin’stheoryofnaturalselectioncameverylateinthehistoryofthought.Wasitdelayedbecauseitopposedrevealedtruth,becauseitwasanentirelynewsubjectinthehistoryofscience,becauseitwascharacteristiconlyoflivingthings,orbecau
2、seitdealtwithpurposeandfinalcauseswithoutpostulatinganactofcreation?Ithinknot.Darwinsimplydiscoveredtheroleofselection,akindofcausalityverydifferentfromthepush-pullmechanismsofscienceuptothattime.Theoriginofafantasticvarietyoflivingthingscouldbeexplainedbythecon-tributionwhich
3、novelfeatures,possiblyofrandomprovenance,madetosurvival.Therewaslittleornothinginphysicalorbiologicalsciencethatforeshadowedselectionasacausalprinciple.—B.F.Skinner(1974,p.36;emphasisadded)Peopleandanimalsaremostremarkableforthethingstheydo.Inanimateobjectsandforcescertainlyca
4、nimpressus,aswhenatornadoplowsthroughanAmericanprairietown,avolcanoeruptsinIndonesia,anearthquakewreakshavoconaJapanesecity,oracometpaysavisittoourcornerofthecosmos.Butmostoftheobjectsthatweencountertendtostayinoneplaceunlesspushedorpulledinsomewaybyananimalorperson.Livinganim
5、alsandpeoplearedifferent.Theycanburrow,crawl,walk,run,hop,climb,swim,andevenflytogetwheretheywanttogo.Manyanimalsengageincomplexritualsforattractingmatesandemployclevertricksforfindingfood,avoidingenemies,andraisingtheiryoung.Theybuildelaboratestructuressuchasspiderwebs,beehiv
6、es,coralreefs,birdnests,andbeaverdamstoprovideshelterandtoobtainfoodandstoreitforthemselvesandtheirassociates.Someevenmakeandusetools.Oneparticularspecies,Homosapiens,hastransformedaconsiderable112TheThingsWeDoportionoftheearth’ssurface,coveringitwithfarms,highways,parkinglots
7、,houses,shoppingcenters,andskyscrapers.Watchingallthisactivity,thecuriousmindmustwonderwhyalltheseorganismsdowhattheydo.Furtherreflectionsuggeststhattherearereallytwodifferenttypesofwhyquestionstoconsideraboutthebehaviorofanimalsandhumans.Oneconcernsimmediateorproximateexplana
8、-tions.Inthepreviouschapterwelearnedhowseeinganimatebehaviora
