I strongly agree with Alters’ statement that “evolution is a unifying theme among many sciences.” I am a political science major, and although many may not consider it to be a “real science,” there is still an understanding of evolution and human variability in my field. Many political scientists understand that evolution leads to change in some way, but most are unfamiliar with the social aspect or misidentify the main features of evolutionary theory. However, evolution provides political scientists with a strong theory for what causes human preferences and behaviors. Without evolution, it would be much more difficult to analyze these preferences and behaviors through a political lens. A political understanding of evolution can assist in understanding why people have certain political attitudes and behaviors. This human variability clearly plays into why some people are liberal and others are more conservative. Our brains have evolved over time and this can be used to explain these differences of personality. It is interesting to look at evolution through this lens, as it is typically observed in an effort to view physical difference, versus behavioral. However, analyzing these behavioral evolutionary differences is very helpful to figure out why these political differences endure.

Though it is more difficult to tie evolution into political science, in my other science courses in the past such as ISS and ISB, I have formed a greater understanding of evolution and human variability. In my ISB class, we were required to visit the MSU museum, which had vivid displays of evolution in action. We studied the life forms of the past and the ones of the present to see biological differences, which gave me a better understanding of evolution than political science classes could. Being able to learn about how not only humans, but all forms of life have evolved to their current state has been extremely beneficial to my understanding of human variability. However, using this background information and knowledge gave me a broader perspective of seeing how evolution also plays a role in other sciences.

The reading and videos this week did make me think about my field in a different light. I had never closely thought about how much evolution plays into politics, but after this week’s lesson I can see how evolution could virtually play a part a role in all sciences, even the social sciences. I think it is important to take classes very different from your major in order to expand your knowledge on issues that may not possibly be discussed in detail in your core classes. Although I already had a pretty good understanding of evolution from all of my science classes throughout my life, this lesson helped me to look at evolution and human variability in a new way. I have often wondered what causes people to have differences in political opinion and values, but never through this perspective. I believe it is important to analyze my field, political science, through an evolutionary lens in order to fully understand why these behavioral differences exist between different people in the political sphere.