Use of The Four-question Schema As "periodic Table"
The four-question schema is used as the central organizing device in some texts but not others. For instance, it is used in one of the most widely used animal behavior texts (Alcock, 2001) but not in one of the most widely used evolutionary psychology texts (Buss, 2004:12). An advantage of the schema is that it highlights gaps in knowledge, analogous to the role played by the periodic table of elements in the early years of chemistry:
The "periodic table of life sciences" becomes clear, when the following levels are graphed against the questions: the bio-molecule, cell, organ, individual and group level (see also Nicolai Hartmann's "Laws about the Levels of Complexity").
| 1. Causation | 2. Ontogeny | 3. Adaptation | 4. Phylogeny | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| a. Molecule | ||||
| b. Cell | ||||
| c. Organ | ||||
| d. Individual | ||||
| e. Family | ||||
| f. Group | ||||
| g. Society |
This "bio-psycho-social" table is a framework of reference, which demonstrates the associations between all non-human biological (levels a–f), as well as all anthropological and human sciences (levels a–g).
Especially in anthropological and human sciences it helps to structure interdisciplinary discussions, teaching and research (i.e. "Fundamental Theory of Anthropology":). In the Table the questions and planes in italics are also the subject of the humanities. In this "periodic table of human sciences", all anthropological disciplines (paragraph C in the table of the pdf-file below), their questions (paragraph A: see pdf-file) and results (paragraph B: see pdf-file) can be intertwined and allocated with each other . This “bio-psycho-social” orientation framework is the basis for the development of an interdisciplinary consensus: It is the starting point for a systematical order for anthropological and human sciences, and also the basis for a consistent networking and structuring of their results (see also Interdisciplinarity). In terms of epistemology: Since the answers to the reference planes and to all four central questions must fit together without contradictions, misconceptions can thus be revealed by inconsistencies. The periodic table can help in estimating how much interdisciplinarity is implemented in specific scientific approaches.
Read more about this topic: Tinbergen's Four Questions
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