A New Use for an Old Theory:Chauncey Wright Between Darwinism and Pragmatism

Abstract

S.J. Gould’s proposal to distinguish between “adaptations” and “exaptations” is presently one of the most interesting attempts to overcome complications deriving from an “adaptationist” perspective of the theory of natural selection. This implies a clear distinction between the current use of a characteristic and its original function, and the permanently open possibility that a structure or faculty which developed for a certain function (or for no function at all, as illustrated by the case of so-called “spandrels of San Marco”) be co-opted afterwards for a different use. Few modern scholars know that in the 1870s, Chauncey Wright, the “master” of the so-called American Pragmatists at the Metaphysical Club, had worked out an original interpretation of evolutionary theory which gained him Darwin’s high esteem. Wright’s theory held Gould’s concept of evolution by “new uses of old powers”, as the philosopher expressed it, to be of primary importance. Wright developed this concept to overcome complications with the theory of natural selection. However, Wright was primarily concerned with providing a new approach to the question of how the human mind originated, combining this initial view with a new philosophy of “Habits” and “Signs” that already showed a tendency towards pragmatist thought. This approach, which outlines a theoretical direction joining the “Gouldian” perspective with a pragmatist orientation, is currently one of the most promising paths for deeply re-thinking the question of the origin and development of what is known as “human nature”.