The Evolution of Beauty: How Darwin's Forgotten Theory of Mate Choice Shapes the Animal World - and Us
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.71 (630 Votes) |
| Asin | : | B071RCMF4G |
| Format Type | : | |
| Number of Pages | : | 495 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-12-27 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
To explain this, he dusts off Darwin's long-neglected theory of sexual selection, in which the act of choosing a mate for purely aesthetic reasons - for the mere pleasure of it - is an independent engine of evolutionary change. In 30 years of fieldwork, Prum has seen numerous display traits that seem disconnected from, if not outright contrary to, selection for individual survival. A major reimagining of how evolutionary forces work, revealing how mating preferences - what Darwin termed "the taste for the beautiful" - create the extraordinary range of ornament in the animal world. Mate choice can drive ornamental traits from the constraints of adaptive evolution, allowing them to grow ever more elaborate. But can adaptation by natural selection really account for everything we see in nature? Yale University ornithologist Richard Prum - reviving Darwin's own views - thinks not. It also sets the stakes for sexual conflict, in which the sexual autonomy of the female evolves in response to male sexual control. The Evolution of Beauty presents a unique scientific vision for how nature's splendor contributes to a more complete understanding of evolution and of ourselves.. In the great halls of science, dogma holds that Darwin's theory of natural selection explains every branch on the tree of life: which species thrive, which wither away to extinction, a
"A must read if you have any interest in human evolution." according to John Wylie. This is the most significant book about human evolution to come along in a very long time. Most popular classics in the genre are by very good science writers, like Matt Ridley (Red Queen), Robert Wright (The Moral Animal), or even Richard Dawkins (Selfish Gene). The Evolution of Beauty easily matches the popular appeal of those books. A Subtle View of Evolution For the non-specialist, this book is real revelation. Survival of the fittest is usually considered to be the only force shaping species in the evolutionary process.Prof. Prum makes the case that other forces, specifically autonomous mate selection, may play a pivotal role in the determination of the characteristics of a species. This. Beauty Happens This is a fascinating book. Darwin’s theory of evolution was based on two pillars: natural selection of adaptations to the environment (‘the survival of the fittest’), which gave the giraffe its long neck, and sexual selection, which gave the peacock its beautiful – and unwieldy – tail. In ‘The Evol