Yes, agreed—for common behaviours, it’s hard to think of
anything but evo-psy. Hypothetically, there could some global
environmental factor that influences behaviour—think gay
bomb—but that’s
probably not very realistic.
The trouble with evo-psy is indeed how it’s hard to distinguish
between alternative hypotheses.
Regarding the BBC-article—I think it is more about the dog
owners than the animals themselves. But of course, if the only
‘evidence’ for dog-guilt is the bias of their owners, the case
gets very weak.
Yes, agreed—for common behaviours, it’s hard to think of anything but evo-psy. Hypothetically, there could some global environmental factor that influences behaviour—think gay bomb—but that’s probably not very realistic.
The trouble with evo-psy is indeed how it’s hard to distinguish between alternative hypotheses.
Regarding the BBC-article—I think it is more about the dog owners than the animals themselves. But of course, if the only ‘evidence’ for dog-guilt is the bias of their owners, the case gets very weak.