Why sex matters : a Darwinian look at human behavior / Bobbi S. Low.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Low, Bobbi S., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Human evolution.

Sex role.

Nature and nurture.

Sociobiology.

Physical Description:

xiii, 412 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

Revised edition.

Place of Publication:

Princeton ; Oxford : Princeton University Press, [2015]

Summary:

"Why are men, like other primate males, usually the aggressors and risk takers? Why do women typically have fewer sexual partners? In Why Sex Matters, Bobbi Low ranges from ancient Rome to modern America, from the Amazon to the Arctic, and from single-celled organisms to international politics, to show that these and many other questions about human behavior largely come down to evolution and sex. More precisely, as she shows in this uniquely comprehensive and accessible survey of behavioral and evolutionary ecology, they come down to the basic principle that all organisms evolved to maximize their reproductive success and seek resources to do so, but that sometimes cooperation and collaboration are the most effective ways to succeed. This newly revised edition has been thoroughly updated to include the latest research and reflect exciting changes in the field, including how our evolutionary past continues to affect our ecological present"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

1 Introduction 1

Vampire Stories and Beyond 2

Explaining Behavior without Folklore 4

Kinds of "Why" Questions 6

Simple Rules, Complex Outcomes 8

Humans as Critters 8

2 Racing the Red Queen: Selfish Genes and Their Strategies 14

Whose Genes Count, and Why? Kin Selection 17

Summing Up the Basics: Assumptions and Objections 21

Novel Evolutionary Environments: Can the Principles Still Hold? 24

More than Ants or Peacocks: Lifetimes, Culture, Ecology, and Variation 26

3 The Ecology of Sex Differences 28

Sex and Strategies 30

The Ecology of Being Male and Female 35

Mating Effort 38

Parental Effort 42

Variance in Reproductive Success: Mating versus Parental Strategists 43

4 Sex, Status, and Reproduction Among the Apes 47

The Ecology of Dominance and Reproductive Success in Primates 48

Ecological Aspects of Mating Systems 50

Sex, Resources, and the Ecology of Human Reproduction 51

The Ecology of Human Mating Systems 59

The Ecology of Monogamy and Polyandry 66

5 Sex, Resources, Appearance, and Mate Choice 69

Beauty, Resources, and Mate Choice 70

What Men and Women Want 71

Influences on Mate Choice in Modern Western Societies 75

Signals of Desirability and Their Manipulation 77

Who Can Choose? 80

6 Sex, Resources, and Human Lifetimes 82

Starting Out: Resource Striving in the Womb 85

Sex Differences in Development 86

What's a Mother to Do? Optimizing Maternal Effort among Offspring 87

Conflicts of Interest: Abortion, Infanticide, Abandonment, Neglect 88

Sex Differences in Reproductive Lifetimes 92

Sex Differences in Senescence 99

7 Sex and Resource Ecology in Traditional Cultures 104

Sexual Divisions of Labor 104

Sex and Control of Resources 106

Men, Women, and Resources in Traditional and Historical Cultures 106

8 Sex, Resources, and Fertility in Transition 116

Germany in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries 117

Nineteenth-Century Sweden 118

Sex, Resources, and Fertility in Transition 132

Fertility Transitions: What, If Anything, Do They Mean? 133

9 Nice Guys Can Win-In Social Species, Anyway 135

Are We Lemmings? A Cautionary Tale 135

When and Why Do We Cooperate Most Easily? 136

Simple Strategies for Winning Games 138

Reciprocity and Its Relatives 141

Adding a Little Complexity 142

The 'Group Selection" Naming Muddle 143

Altruists or Good Neighbors? 150

Cooperation and Free Riders 151

10 Conflicts, Culture, and Natural Selection 152

Cooperation, Competition, and Groups 153

Working Out Our Conflicts: Moral Systems and Group Life 153

I'm Committed, Are You? The Deception and Manipulation Problems 157

Intertwining Cultural and Natural Selection 157

Logically Inept, Socially Adept: The Social Contexts of Intelligence 165

11 Sex and Complex Coalitions 170

Coalitions, Resources, and Reproduction 172

Coalitions and the Ecology of Trust 180

Sex and Human Coalitions 181

12 Politics and Reproductive Competition 185

Men, Women, and Politics Cross-Culturally 187

Women in Politics: When Did It Pay? 195

13 Sex, Resources, and Early Warfare 198

Resources and Conflict 199

Why Women Warriors Are Rare 201

War: Runaway Sexual Selection? 202

Other Biological Approaches to Understanding War 203

The Ecology of War: Uncertainty and Payoffs 204

Intergroup Conflict in Other Species 205

Conflict in Preindustrial Societies 208

14 Societal Complexity and the Ecology of War 212

Greek Hoplites: Early "Western" Warriors? 215

The Ecology of Renaissance War 215

The Behavioral Ecology of Modern War 217

Women and Disadvantaged Men in War 220

War and Reproductive Success Today 221

Proximate and Ultimate Causes of War: Evolutionary Novelty 222

15 Wealth, Fertility, and the Environment in Future Tense 225

Wealth, Fertility, and Consumption Today: Empirical Data 231

How Our Evolved Tendencies Affect Our Future 237

The Behavioral Ecology of Humans and Other Species Interact 240

What's Missing in Current Strategies? 244

Can New Strategies and Tactics Help? 248

An Evolutionary Bottom Line: Can We Use What We Know? 249.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780691163888

069116388X

OCLC:

886880007