How Sexual Choice Shaped the Evolution of Human Nature
Many aspects of the human mind remain mysterious. While Darwinian natural selection can explain the evolution of most life on earth, it has never seemed fully adequate to explain the aspects of our minds that seem most uniquely and profoundly human - art, morality, consciousness, creativity and language. Yet these aspects of human nature need not remain evolutionary mysteries. Until fairly recently most biologists have ignored or rejected Darwin's claims for the other great force of evolution - sexual selection through mate choice, which favours traits simply because they prove attractive to the opposite sex. But over recent years biologists have taken up Darwin's insights into how the reproduction of the sexiest is as much a focus of evolution as the survival of the fittest.
This book shows the evolutionary power of sexual choice, and the reasons why our ancestors became attracted not only to pretty faces and healthy bodies, but to minds that were witty, articulate, generous, and conscious. The richness and subtlety of modern human psychology reflects a legacy of minds that evolved, like the peacock's tail and the elk's antlers, for courtship and mating.
Drawing on new ideas from evolutionary biology, economics and psychology, it illuminates examples ranging from natural history to popular culture, from the art of New Guinea's bowerbirds to the sexual charisma of 'South Park's' school chef, providing insights into the inarticulacy of teenage boys, the diversity of ancient Greek coins, the reasons why Scrooge was single, the difficulties of engaging with modern art and the function of sumo-wrestling.
