The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882.

Series:

Princeton Science Library

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Evolution (Biology).

Sexual selection in animals.

Sexual dimorphism (Animals).

Sex differences.

Human beings--Origin.

Human beings.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (964 p.)

1 online resource

Edition:

With a New introduction by J. T. Bonner and R. M. May

Place of Publication:

Princeton, N.J Princeton University Press 1981

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

In the current resurgence of interest in the biological basis of animal behavior and social organization, the ideas and questions pursued by Charles Darwin remain fresh and insightful. This is especially true of The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex, Darwin's second most important work. This edition is a facsimile reprint of the first printing of the first edition (1871), not previously available in paperback. The work is divided into two parts. Part One marshals behavioral and morphological evidence to argue that humans evolved from other animals. Darwin shoes that human mental and emotional capacities, far from making human beings unique, are evidence of an animal origin and evolutionary development. Part Two is an extended discussion of the differences between the sexes of many species and how they arose as a result of selection. Here Darwin lays the foundation for much contemporary research by arguing that many characteristics of animals have evolved not in response to the selective pressures exerted by their physical and biological environment, but rather to confer an advantage in sexual competition. These two themes are drawn together in two final chapters on the role of sexual selection in humans. In their Introduction, Professors Bonner and May discuss the place of The Descent in its own time and relation to current work in biology and other disciplines.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents VOL I

Introduction / Bonner, John Tyler / May, Robert M.

Notes and References

Contents

Introduction

Part I. The Descent or Origin of Man

Chapter I. The Evidence of the Descent of Man From Some Lower Form

Chapter II. Comparison of the Mental Powers of Man and the Lower Animals

Chapter III. Comparison of the Mental Powers of Man and the Lower Animals-Continued

Chapter IV. On the Manner of Development of Man From Some Lower Form

Chapter V. On the Development of the Intellectual and Moral Faculties During Primeval and Civilised Times

Chapter VI. On the Affinities and Genealogy of Man

Chapter VII. On the Races of Man

Part II. Sexual Selection

Chapter VIII. Principles of Sexual Selection

Chapter IX. Secondary Sexual Characters in the Lower Classes of the Animal Kingdom.

Chapter X. Secondary Sexual Characters of Insects

Chapter XI. Insects, Continued.-Order Lepidoptera

Front Matter 2

Errata

Contents VOL. II.

Postscript

Chapter XII. Secondary Sexual Characters of Fishes, Amphibians, and Reptiles

Chapter XIII. Secondary Sexual Characters of Birds

Chapter XIV. Birds-Continued

Chapter XV. Birds-Continued

Chapter XVI. Birds-Concluded

Chapter XVII. Secondary Sexual Characters Of Mammals

Chapter XVIII. Secondary. Sexual Characters of Mammals- Continued

Chapter XIX. Secondary Sexual Characters of Man

Chapter XX. Secondary Sexual Characters of Man-Continued

Chapter XXI. General Summary and Conclusion

Index

Table of the Principal Additions and Corrections to the Editions of 1874

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 08. Jul 2019)

Reprint of the 1871 ed. published by J. Murray, London.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786612751424

9781400811366

1400811368

9780691023694

0691023697

9781282751422

1282751425

9781400820061

1400820065

OCLC:

698111665