Henry Charles Plotkin (11 December 1940 – 15 December 2021) was a British evolutionary psychologist who appliedDarwinian principles to the understanding of the mind, behavior, culture and knowledge.
From 1965 to 1972, Plotkin worked as a research scientist at theMedical Research Council. He spent two years (1970–1972) as a postdoctoral fellow atStanford University. Upon returning to the UK, he joinedUniversity College London as a lecturer. He was promoted to Reader in 1988 and became a professor in 1993. He was head of the Psychology Department at UCL from 1993 to 1998[3] and was named Emeritus Professor in 2005.
Evolutionary Psychology: Plotkin's work helped establish the field of evolutionary psychology with accessible overviews like "Evolution in Mind" that explained how natural selection shaped the human mind.[4] Plotkin applied evolutionary principles to psychological topics like learning, intelligence, and memory.
Cultural Evolution: Plotkin wrote extensively on evolution and culture.[5][6][7][8] In "The Imagined World Made Real," Plotkin brought an evolutionary approach to analyzing culture, arguing it evolves through Darwinian mechanisms.[9] This helped start the study of cultural evolution andgene-culture coevolution as scientific disciplines.
Behavior's Role in Evolution: Plotkin's book "The Role of Behavior in Evolution" underscored how behavior is not just an evolutionary outcome, but a key driver shaping trajectories.[10] This work influenced later research emphasizing animal agency in evolution throughniche construction.
Evolutionary Epistemology: Plotkin pioneered the field of evolutionary epistemology, which analyzes the growth of knowledge from a Darwinian perspective.[11] In his "Darwin Machines and the Nature of Knowledge", he proposed modeling the mind as aDarwin machine that accumulates knowledge via evolutionary processes of variation, selection, and retention.[12]
Pribram, K. H.; Plotkin, H. C.; Anderson, R. M.; Leong, D. (1977). "Information sources in the delayed alternation task for normal and 'frontal' monkeys".Neuropsychologia.15 (2): 329–340.
Plotkin, Henry C.; Odling-Smee, F. J. (1979). "Learning, change, and evolution: an enquiry into the teleonomy of learning". InAdvances in the Study of Behavior.10: 1–41.Academic Press.
Plotkin, H.C.; Odling-Smee, F.J. (1979). "Learning, Change, and Evolution: An Enquiry into the Teleonomy of Learning".Advances in the Study of Behavior.10: 1–41.doi:10.1016/S0065-3454(08)60092-3
Plotkin, H. C.; Odling-Smee, F. J. (1981). "A multiple-level model of evolution and its implications for sociobiology".Behavioral and Brain Sciences.4 (2): 225–235.doi:10.1017/S0140525X00008566
Heyes, Celia M.; Plotkin, Henry C. (1989). "Replicators and interactors in cultural evolution". InWhat the philosophy of biology is: Essays dedicated to David Hull. Dordrecht:Springer Netherlands. pp. 139–162.
Plotkin, H.C. (1987). "Evolutionary epistemology as science".Biol Philos.2: 295–313.doi:10.1007/BF00128835
Plotkin, H.C. (1995). "Non-genetic transmission of information: Candidate cognitive processes and the evolution of culture".Behavioural Processes.35 (1–3): 207–213.doi:10.1016/0376-6357(95)00056-9
Plotkin, Henry (2011). "Human nature, cultural diversity and evolutionary theory".Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B.366: 454–463.doi:10.1098/rstb.2010.0160
^Plotkin, Henry C. (1998).Evolution in Mind. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.ISBN978-0-674-27120-3.
^Heyes, Celia M.; Plotkin, Henry C. (1989). "Replicators and interactors in cultural evolution".What the philosophy of biology is: Essays dedicated to David Hull. Springer Netherlands. pp. 139–162.
^Plotkin, H.C. (1987). "Evolutionary epistemology as science".Biol Philos.2 (3):295–313.doi:10.1007/BF00128835.
^Plotkin, H.C. (1995). "Non-genetic transmission of information: Candidate cognitive processes and the evolution of culture".Behavioural Processes.35 (1–3):207–213.doi:10.1016/0376-6357(95)00056-9.
