Resolving the Tension Between Feminism and Evolutionary Psychology: An Epistemological Critique

Feminist epistemologies have been instrumental in drawing attention to androcentric biases in knowledge production, the shortcomings of representational epistemologies like postpositivism that guide research in evolutionary psychology, in addition to the socially, politically, and historically situated nature of women's subjective experiences. Nonetheless, these epistemologies continue to downplay the importance of women's physical bodies, their interrelationships with other biological organisms and the physical environment, as well as their evolutionary histories as valid sources of knowledge. In the current article, I argue that normative epistemologies endorsed by both evolutionary psychologists (e.g., postpositivism) and feminist scholars (e.g., standpoint epistemology) are used to advance untenable arguments regarding the nature of knowledge, which continues to divide theorists and practitioners in both communities. An alternative interobjective epistemology, labeled complexity, is described and argued to facilitate a more fruitful engagement with women's social, historical, biological, ecological, and evolutionary realities. My hope is that this epistemological shift can encourage greater interdisciplinary collaboration between feminist scholars, Darwinian feminists, and evolutionary psychologists, which can facilitate the creation of more sophisticated, elaborate, and complex ways of studying, understanding, and interacting with our increasingly complex worlds. Public Significance Statement Feminist scholars, evolutionary psychologists, and those at the intersections have long been embroiled in conflict, which can be attributed, in part, to epistemological differences. Normative epistemological lenses used by both evolutionary researchers and feminist scholars are limited in describing the experiences and realities of women. The interobjective epistemology of complexity is introduced in an attempt to build trust and collaboration between feminist scholars and evolutionary psychologists through a more serious engagement with the materiality of women's bodies, their ecological entanglements, and their phylogenic histories.