The Mating Mind: How Sexual Choice Shaped the Evolution of Human Nature Volume 4

Matt Ridley

Referring to Lewis Carroll's Red Queen from Through the Looking-Glass , a character who has to keep running to stay in the same place, Matt Ridley demonstrates why sex is humanity's best strategy for outwitting its constantly mutating internal predators. The Red Queen answers dozens of other riddles of human nature and culture — including why men propose marriage, the method behind our maddening notions of beauty, and the disquieting fact that a woman is more likely to conceive a child by an adulterous lover than by her husband. Brilliantly written, The Red Queen offers an extraordinary new way of interpreting the human condition and how it has evolved. Booknews The author, a science journalist, draws on a wide range of sources (which he notes and annotates) to present some biological (unromantic) reasons behind seduction and sexism, beauty and polygamy, attraction and adultery. The title refers to Lewis Carroll's character in Through the Looking Glass who told Alice "we must run as fast as we can just to stay in the same place," her comment being used metaphorically for evolution. For the lay audience. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Leer más…

Edited By Merril D. Smith

Rape Has Been Perpetrated Throughout History And Worldwide, And Today Ours Has Been Called A Rape Culture, Because Sexual Violence, Mainly Against Women And Children, Is Prevalent And Tolerated To Some Extent. The Encyclopedia Of Rape Offers 185 Entries In An A-to-z Essay Format Covering The Historical Scope And Magnitude Of The Issue In The United States And Globally. Written By A Host Of Scholars From Diverse Fields, It Provides Informed Perspectives On The Key Dimensions Of The Topic, From Concepts, Social Movements, Offenders, High-profile Cases, Legislation, Influential Activists, Landmark Texts, And Victimology To Representations In Literature And Art. This Solid, Accessible Ready-reference Will Allow Students And The General Reader To Contextualize Current Events And Reading And Viewing In History, Literature And The Bible, Film, Art History, Gender Studies, Psychology, Criminology, Popular Culture, And More. Rape Is A Topic Of Perpetual Relevance And Remains Deeply Controversial, As It Involves The Sexual Act. Although Women Are The Primary Targets Of Rape And Thus The Focus Of Discussion Of It, The Rape Of Men, Children, And Animals Is Also Considered In The Encyclopedia. Up To Date, It Contains Insight On The Manifestations Of Rape Today, Including As A Tool Of Ethnic Cleansing In Bosnia And Genocide In Rwanda, The Catholic Church Priest Scandals, And Drug-facilitated Date Rape. Added Value Comes From An Abundance Of Statistics, Suggested Reading For Further... Leer más…

Randy Thornhill And Steven W. Gangestad

Research conducted in the last fifteen years has placed in question many of the traditional conclusions scholars have formed about human female sexuality. Though conventional wisdom asserts that women's estrus has been evolutionarily lost, Randy Thornhill and Steven W. Gangestad assert that it is present, though concealed. Women, they propose, therefore exhibit two sexualities each ovulatory cycle-estrus and sexuality outside of the estrous phase, extended sexuality-that possess distinct functions. Synthesizing research in behavioral evolution and comparative biology, the authors provide a new theoretical framework for understanding the evolution of human female sexuality, one that is rooted in female sexuality and phylogeny across all vertebrate animals. Leer más…

Maureen Canning

sexual Addiction Is A Problem That Affects Millions Of People. Maureen Canning, Lmft, Who Has Extensive Experience Treating Sex Addicts, Explains Its Roots And How Those Afflicted Can Recover. this Book Also Explains The Poisonous Childhood Seeds That Lead To Public Scandals Like The Revelations Involving Former Congressman Mark Foley. canning Shows How Compulsions Are The Product Of Early Childhood Abuse And How Patterns, From The Most Violent To The Most Commonplace, Develop. She Explains That The Overriding Emotion Sexually Addicted People Feel Towards The Partners With Whom They Seek Intimacy Is Anger Turned Into Sexuality, Or Sexualized Anger. This Yields A False Sense Of Security And Power, An Aggressive Tendency, Which Destroys Any Chance Of A Healthy Relationship. Lust, Anger, Love Offers A Comprehensive And Enlightening Look At The Origins Of These Little Discussed Behaviors And Maps Out A Plan For Recovery. Leer más…

Stephen Garton

This book surveys the ways sex and sexuality have been made the subjects of history. It critically analyses some of the key histories of the last forty years; from the early efforts of historians like Steven Marcus to work out a model for sexual history, through to the extraordinary impact of French philosopher Michel Foucault. It explores the vigorous debates about essentialism and social constructionism in the 1980s and early 1990s and the emergence of contemporary debates about historicism, queer theory, embodiment, gender and cultural history shaping the now vast and diverse historical scholarship on sex and sexuality. Histories of Sexuality also focuses on a number of key debates about the history of sex and sexuality in Britain, Europe and America. It explores such areas as pederasty and cultures of male passivity in ancient Greece and Rome, the impact of early Christianity and ideals of renunciation on the sexual cultures of late antiquity and the existence of homosexual cultures in Medieval and Renaissance Europe. It also examines some of the debates about the 'invention' of homosexuality and heterosexuality in eighteenth century Europe and America, shifting conceptions of the body and gender, and how cultures controlled sexuality and kept the birth rate steady until the industrial revolution. Histories of Sexuality explores the controversies about whether the 'Victorian era' was an age of sexual repression, how women challenged the sexual cultures of Victorian... Leer más…

Glenn Geher, Geoffrey Miller (Editors)

"Human intelligence is sexually attractive, and strongly predicts the success of sexual relationships, but the behavioral sciences have usually ignored the interface between intelligence and mating. This is the first serious scholarly effort to explore that interface, by examining both universal and individual differences in human mating intelligence. Contributors include some of the most prominent evolutionary psychologists and promising new researchers in human intelligence, social psychology, intimate relationships, and sexuality. David Buss' foreword and the opening chapter explore what 'mating intelligence' means, and why it is central to human cognition and sexuality. The book's six sections then examine (1) our mating mechanisms -- universal emotional and cognitive adaptations for mating intelligently -- that guide mate search, mate choice, and courtship; (2) how mating intelligence strategically guides our choice of mating tactics and partners given different relationship goals, personality traits, forms of deception, and the existence of children; (3) the genetic and psychiatric causes of individual differences in mating intelligence; (4) how we use mental fitness indicators -- forms of human intelligence such as creativity, humor, and emotional intelligence -- to attract and retain sexual partners; (5) the ecological and social contexts of mating intelligence; (6) integrative models of mating intelligence that can guide future research. Mating Intelligence is... Leer más…

Jared M. Diamond

Diamond Jared. Why Is Sex Fun - The Evolution of Human Sexuality 1998 [pdf 118sc 606kb] Why are humans one of the few species to have sex in private? Why are human females the only mammals to go through menopause? Why is the human penis so unnecessarily large? There is no more knowledgeable authority than the award-winning author of THE THIRD CHIMPANZEE to answer these intriguing questions. Here is a delightfully entertaining and enlightening look at the unique sex lives of humans. Leer más…

By Allan Pease, Barbara Pease

Allan and Barbara Pease, the international bestselling authors of Why Men Don't Listen & Women Can't Read Maps, deliver their most exciting book yet. Will men and women ever see eye-to-eye about love and sex' How will relationships ever be rewarding if men only want to rush into bed and women want to rush to the altar' In this practical, witty and down-to-earth guide, couples experts Allan and Barbara Pease reveal the truth about how men and women can really get along. By translating science and cutting edge research into a powerful yet highly entertaining read, you'll learn how to find true happiness and compatibility with the opposite sex. REVEALED IN THIS BOOK: * The seven types of love * The top five things women want from men * What to do when the chemistry is wrong * What turns men and women on ' and off! * The most common "New Relationship" mistakes and how to avoid them * How to decode "manspeak" If you want to get the most satisfaction from your relationship, or are single and looking for the right person, then you must read this book for the answer to Why Men Want Sex and Women Need Love. From the Trade Paperback edition Leer más…

Leonard Shlain

Leonard Shlain From the best selling author of __Art and Physics__ and __The Alphabet Versus the Goddess__ comes a provocative new book that will change our views of human sexuality and evolution. According to Leonard Shlain there is no clear and compelling explanation for the sudden emergence of glib, big-brained __Homo sapiens__ 150,000 years ago. In his latest book, he proposes an original thesis that variations in female sexuality changed the course of human evolution. Due to the narrowness of her bipedal pelvis and the increasing size of her infant's head, the human female began to experience high childbirth death rates. Natural selection adapted her to this environmental stress by drastically reconfiguring her hormonal cycles. Her estrus with its external signal that she was ovulating disappeared as her menses became the most florid of any mammal and it mysteriously entrained with the periodicity of the moon. These interlocking adaptations led the first women to grasp the concept of a month and make the connection between sex and pregnancy. Upon learning the immense secret of time, early females became empowered to refuse sex when they were ovulating. The first males faced women who had a mind of their own. Men used the knowledge of the future acquired from women to become the planet's most fearsome predator. But soon, a man discovered that he was mortal and, then, when he belatedly understood the function of sex, he grasped that he could have an heir. These... Leer más…

Geoffrey Miller

A leading evolutionary psychologist probes the hidden instincts behind our working, shopping, and spending Evolutionary psychology-the compelling science of human nature-has clarified the prehistoric origins of human behavior and influenced many fields ranging from economics to personal relationships. In Spent Geoffrey Miller applies this revolutionary science's principles to a new domain: the sensual wonderland of marketing and status seeking that we call American consumer culture. Starting with the basic notion that the goods and services we buy unconsciously advertise our biological potential as mates and friends, Miller examines the hidden factors that dictate our choices in everything from lipstick to cars, from the magazines we read to the music we listen to. With humor and insight, Miller analyzes an array of product choices and deciphers what our decisions say about ourselves, giving us access to a new way of understanding-and improving-our behaviors. Like Freakonomics or The Tipping Point, Spent is a bold and revelatory book that illuminates the unseen logic behind the chaos of consumerism and suggests new ways we can become happier consumers and more responsible citizens. Leer más…

Ridley, Matt

From Publishers Weekly Why do we have sex? One of the main biological reasons, contends Ridley, is to combat disease. By constantly combining and recombining genes every generation, people "keep their genes one step ahead of their parasites," thereby strengthening resistance to bacteria and viruses that cause deadly diseases or epidemics. Called the "Red Queen Theory" by biologists after the chess piece in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass which runs but stays in the same place, this hypothesis is just one of the controversial ideas put forth in this witty, elegantly written inquiry. Ridley, a London-based science writer and a former editor of the Economist , argues that men are polygamous for the obvious reason that whichever gender has to spend the most time and energy creating and rearing offspring tends to avoid extra mating. Women, though far less interested in multiple partners, will commit adultery if stuck with a mediocre mate. In Ridley's not wholly convincing conclusion, even human intellect is chalked up to sex: virtuosity, individuality, inventiveness and related traits are what make people sexually attractive. Photos. BOMC and QPB alternates. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal This is a fascinating book filled with lucid prose and seductive reasoning. Freelance science writer Ridley reaches into the literature of genetics; molecular, theoretical and evolutionary biology; ecology; sociology; and anthropology to weave an... Leer más…

Matt Ridley

If, as Darwin suggests, evolution relentlessly encourages the survival of the fittest, why are humans compelled to live in cooperative, complex societies? In this fascinating examination of the roots of human trust and virtue, a zoologist and former American editor of the Economist reveals the results of recent studies that suggest that self-interest and mutual aid are not at all incompatible. In fact, he points out, our cooperative instincts may have evolved as part of mankind's natural selfish behavior--by exchanging favors we can benefit ourselves as well as others. Brilliantly orchestrating the newest findings of geneticists, psychologists, and anthropologists, The Origins of Virtue re-examines the everyday assumptions upon which we base our actions towards others, whether in our roles as parents, siblings, or trade partners. With the wit and brilliance of The Red Queen, his acclaimed study of human and animal sexuality, Matt Ridley shows us how breakthroughs in computer programming, microbiology, and economics have given us a new perspective on how and why we relate to each other. • Ridley's previous book, The Red Queen, was short-listed for the Writers' Guild Award for nonfiction. Leer más…

Randy Thornhill, Craig T. Palmer

In this sure-to-be-controversial book, Randy Thornhill and Craig Palmer use evolutionary biology to explain the causes of rape and to recommend new approaches to its prevention. According to Thornhill and Palmer, evolved adaptation of some sort gives rise to rape; the main evolutionary question is whether rape is an adaptation itself or a by-product of other adaptations. Regardless of the answer, Thornhill and Palmer note, rape circumvents a central feature of women's reproductive strategy: mate choice. This is a primary reason why rape is devastating to its victims, especially young women. Thornhill and Palmer address, and claim to demolish scientifically, many myths about rape bred by social science theory over the past twenty-five years. The popular contention that rapists are not motivated by sexual desire is, they argue, scientifically inaccurate. Although they argue that rape is biological, Thornhill and Palmer do not view it as inevitable. Their recommendations for rape prevention include teaching young males not to rape, punishing rape more severely, and studying the effectiveness of "chemical castration." They also recommend that young women consider the biological causes of rape when making decisions about dress, appearance, and social activities. Rape could cease to exist, they argue, only in a society knowledgeable about its evolutionary causes. The book includes a useful summary of evolutionary theory and a comparison of evolutionary biology's and... Leer más…

Daniel E. Lieberman

In this landmark book of popular science, Daniel E. Lieberman—chair of the department of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University and a leader in the field—gives us a lucid and engaging account of how the human body evolved over millions of years, even as it shows how the increasing disparity between the jumble of adaptations in our Stone Age bodies and advancements in the modern world is occasioning this paradox: greater longevity but increased chronic disease. __В____The Story of the Human Body__ brilliantly illuminates as never before the major transformations that contributed key adaptations to the body: the rise of bipedalism; the shift to a non-fruit-based diet; the advent of hunting and gathering, leading to our superlative endurance athleticism; the development of a very large brain; and the incipience of cultural proficiencies. Lieberman also elucidates how cultural evolution differs from biological evolution, and how our bodies were further transformed during the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions. В While these ongoing changes have brought about many benefits, they have also created conditions to which our bodies are not entirely adapted, Lieberman argues, resulting in the growing incidence of obesity and new but avoidable diseases, such as type 2 diabetes. Lieberman proposes that many of these chronic illnesses persist and in some cases are intensifying because of “dysevolution,” a pernicious dynamic whereby only the symptoms rather than... Leer más…

Louann Brizendine, Md

Since Dr. Brizendine wrote The Female Brain ten years ago, the response has been overwhelming. This New York Times bestseller has been translated into more than thirty languages, has sold nearly a million copies between editions, and has most recently inspired a romantic comedy starring Whitney Cummings and Sofia Vergara. And its profound scientific understanding of the nature and experience of the female brain continues to guide women as they pass through life stages, to help men better understand the girls and women in their lives, and to illuminate the delicate emotional machinery of a love relationship. Why are women more verbal than men? Why do women remember details of fights that men can’t remember at all? Why do women tend to form deeper bonds with their female friends than men do with their male counterparts? These and other questions have stumped both sexes throughout the ages. Now, pioneering neuropsychiatrist Louann Brizendine, M.D., brings together the latest findings to show how the unique structure of the female brain determines how women think, what they value, how they communicate, and who they love. While doing research as a medical student at Yale and then as a resident and faculty member at Harvard, Louann Brizendine discovered that almost all of the clinical data in existence on neurology, psychology, and neurobiology focused exclusively on males. In response to the overwhelming need for information on the female mind, Brizendine established the first... Leer más…

Alfred C Kinsey, Institute For Sex Research, Wardell B Pomeroy, Paul H Gebhard

"Sexual Behavior in the Human Female" was originally published in 1953, five years after the male volume. The material presented in this book was derived from personal interviews with nearly 6,000 women; from studies in sexual anatomy, physiology, psychology, and endocrinology. The book presents data on the incidence and frequency with which women participate in various types of sexual activity. The authors show how such factors as age, decade of birth, and religious adherence are reflected in patterns of sexual behavior. Some measure of the social significance of the various types of sexual behavior is provided. The authors make comparisons of female and male sexual activities, and investigate the factors which account for the similarities and differences between female and male patterns of behavior. Leer más…

Gad Saad, David M. Buss

In this highly informative and entertaining book, the founder of the vibrant new field of evolutionary consumption illuminates the relevance of our biological heritage to our daily lives as consumers. While culture is important, the author shows that innate evolutionary forces deeply influence the foods we eat, the gifts we offer, the cosmetics and clothing styles we choose to make ourselves more attractive to potential mates, and even the cultural products that stimulate our imaginations (such as art, music, and religion). The book demonstrates that most acts of consumption can be mapped onto four key Darwinian drives-namely, survival (we prefer foods high in calories); reproduction (we use products as sexual signals); kin selection (we naturally exchange gifts with family members); and reciprocal altruism (we enjoy offering gifts to close friends). The author further highlights the analogous behaviors that exist between human consumers and a wide range of animals.For anyone interested in the biological basis of human behavior or simply in what makes consumers tick-marketing professionals, advertisers, psychology mavens, and consumers themselves-this is a fascinating read. Editorial Reviews Review "What's your guilty pleasure? Junk food? Fast cars? Champagne? To shop until you drop? What makes consumers tick? Psychologist Gad Saad writes of the innate needs, preferences, and drives that spur many of our most treasured appetites and behaviors—all soft-wired into the human... Leer más…

Tucker Max, Geoffrey Miller, Phd With Nils Parker

"The #1 bestselling pioneer of "fratire" and a leading evolutionary psychologist team up to create the dating book for guys Whether they conducted their research in life or in the lab, experts Tucker Max and Dr. Geoffrey Miller have spent the last 20+ years learning what women really want from their men, why they want it, and how men can deliver those qualities. The short answer: become the best version of yourself possible, then show it off. It sounds simple, but it's not. If it were, Tinder would just be the stuff you use to start a fire. Becoming your best self requires honesty, self-awareness, hard work and a little help. Through their website and podcasts, Max and Miller have already helped over one million guys take their first steps toward Miss Right. They have collected all of their findings in Mate, an evidence-driven, seriously funny playbook that will teach you to become a more sexually attractive and romantically successful man, the right way: - No "seduction techniques" - No moralizing - No bullshit Just honest, straightforward talk about the most ethical, effective way to pursue the win-win relationships you want with the women who are best for you. Much of what they've discovered will surprise you, some of it will not, but all of it is important and often misunderstood. So listen up, and stop being stupid!" -- Leer más…

Tucker Max, Geoffrey Miller, Phd With Nils Parker

"The #1 bestselling pioneer of "fratire" and a leading evolutionary psychologist team up to create the dating book for guys Whether they conducted their research in life or in the lab, experts Tucker Max and Dr. Geoffrey Miller have spent the last 20+ years learning what women really want from their men, why they want it, and how men can deliver those qualities. The short answer: become the best version of yourself possible, then show it off. It sounds simple, but it's not. If it were, Tinder would just be the stuff you use to start a fire. Becoming your best self requires honesty, self-awareness, hard work and a little help. Through their website and podcasts, Max and Miller have already helped over one million guys take their first steps toward Miss Right. They have collected all of their findings in Mate, an evidence-driven, seriously funny playbook that will teach you to become a more sexually attractive and romantically successful man, the right way: - No "seduction techniques" - No moralizing - No bullshit Just honest, straightforward talk about the most ethical, effective way to pursue the win-win relationships you want with the women who are best for you. Much of what they've discovered will surprise you, some of it will not, but all of it is important and often misunderstood. So listen up, and stop being stupid!" -- Leer más…