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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
Super boring narrator but interesting story of Darwin's life. The suppositions and scientific analysis dismisses non-heteronormative traits and takes a highly cynical view of human motivation but there was some truth to it. Mostly, I enjoyed hearing about Charles Darwin and what he learned and how he learned it as told through his journal's, his scientific work, his wife's journals, etc. I'm now reading Sex at Dawn which shows a wider array of human relationships and discusses several of this books points.
Mind bending study of the emerging field of evolutionary psychology. Not only are our physical behaviors governed by evolution, but our social behavior as well. Marriage, altruism, and other things that we would never consider have all been chosen via natural selection.
challenging
informative
medium-paced
Evolutionary Psychology is a field that gives the world truths about human behavior and morality that people don't necessarily want to hear or believe. Robert's discussion on the differences between men and women is great, so easy to see in the real world.
I would have liked more discussion on the differences between the sexes and current and future implications of these differences given the direction of the social climate. I would probably give it 5 stars if it didn't feel like 3/4 of the book was a recount of Darwin's life.
I would have liked more discussion on the differences between the sexes and current and future implications of these differences given the direction of the social climate. I would probably give it 5 stars if it didn't feel like 3/4 of the book was a recount of Darwin's life.
"Sensual pleasures are the whip that natural selection uses to control us; to keep us in the thrall of its warped value system."
While I studied evolution at university, it was primarily in a biological sense with very little mention made of the way that evolution has powerfully shaped human psychology and behaviour. This book addresses the topic of evolutionary psychology by presenting much of humanity's social and sexual phenomena within the framework of Darwin's theory of natural selection. A variety of interesting subject matters are covered, such as the psychology underpinning differences in courtship/marriage between men and women, monogamy vs polygamy, the evolutionary motivation behind behaviours such as altruism and status-seeking within our social hierarchy, and why we are designed to be unhappy. One thing I really enjoyed about this book was the way the writer analyzed Charles Darwin's life with respect to evolutionary psychology; how his marriage, scientific career and facets of his personality were influenced by the evolutionary forces described throughout the book. I think this is one of the most interesting books I've ever read - previously, I hadn't even known that evolutionary psychology was a whole field on its own. But the more I think about, the more overwhelmingly convinced I am that our sociobiology and psychology, like every other aspect of our development, are the products of natural selection, fine-tuned over and over and over again. I highly recommend this to everyone interested in understanding the evolutionary origins of our behaviour.
While I studied evolution at university, it was primarily in a biological sense with very little mention made of the way that evolution has powerfully shaped human psychology and behaviour. This book addresses the topic of evolutionary psychology by presenting much of humanity's social and sexual phenomena within the framework of Darwin's theory of natural selection. A variety of interesting subject matters are covered, such as the psychology underpinning differences in courtship/marriage between men and women, monogamy vs polygamy, the evolutionary motivation behind behaviours such as altruism and status-seeking within our social hierarchy, and why we are designed to be unhappy. One thing I really enjoyed about this book was the way the writer analyzed Charles Darwin's life with respect to evolutionary psychology; how his marriage, scientific career and facets of his personality were influenced by the evolutionary forces described throughout the book. I think this is one of the most interesting books I've ever read - previously, I hadn't even known that evolutionary psychology was a whole field on its own. But the more I think about, the more overwhelmingly convinced I am that our sociobiology and psychology, like every other aspect of our development, are the products of natural selection, fine-tuned over and over and over again. I highly recommend this to everyone interested in understanding the evolutionary origins of our behaviour.
More introduction to 90s evolutionary psychology as weltanschauung than to the field’s current more empirically minded incarnation. It’s alternatingly bafflingly simplistic and genuinely interesting. Robert Wright’s prose is good enough to make the entire thing bearable, even the slightly torturous sections on gender.
Amazing read!
A deep insight on the way we make our decisions and how its sole purpose (unconscious to us) is the procreation and continuation of our species by building status, reputation and finally gaining of resources including mates and thus children.
How self-deception (again unknown to our consicous) helps in speaking with conviction.
Why women can continue in a relationship with a cheating partner, but men can't.
This book provides compelling argument to all those questions and more, on the basis of evolutionary psychology.
It is a bit disheartening to know that "our happiness" isn't one of the goals in the whole process! Also, the concluding chapters leading to an answer to "Are we a moral animal, after all?" is, though hard to completely accept, I guess partly we knew it all along to be so!
Definitely read it, if you like psychology or if you are just curious (like me) about the decision making process and the evolutionary benefit, if any, due to it.
Happy reading!
A deep insight on the way we make our decisions and how its sole purpose (unconscious to us) is the procreation and continuation of our species by building status, reputation and finally gaining of resources including mates and thus children.
How self-deception (again unknown to our consicous) helps in speaking with conviction.
Why women can continue in a relationship with a cheating partner, but men can't.
This book provides compelling argument to all those questions and more, on the basis of evolutionary psychology.
It is a bit disheartening to know that "our happiness" isn't one of the goals in the whole process! Also, the concluding chapters leading to an answer to "Are we a moral animal, after all?" is, though hard to completely accept, I guess partly we knew it all along to be so!
Definitely read it, if you like psychology or if you are just curious (like me) about the decision making process and the evolutionary benefit, if any, due to it.
Happy reading!
challenging
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Interesting mix of biography of Darwin and a more typical book on the subject of evolutionary psychology.
Linking the topics to Darwin's life worked for me in places, but in others made it feel a little bloated -- as you had to wade through a detailed passage on a time in Darwin's life, before finally getting to the part that tied it back to the topic, in a way that occasional felt like a stretch.
Definitely worth reading.
Linking the topics to Darwin's life worked for me in places, but in others made it feel a little bloated -- as you had to wade through a detailed passage on a time in Darwin's life, before finally getting to the part that tied it back to the topic, in a way that occasional felt like a stretch.
Definitely worth reading.
A fairly new field of psychology that attempts to align present day humanistic behavioral traits of virtues and vices to natural selection and social anthropology . I found certain chapters about how today's current economic structures and hierarchy have evolved through hunter gatherer societies and behavioral commonalities between social apes and homo sapiens due to genetic similarities quite engaging .
This also shows how moral values which is supposedly conceived by modern man very possibly predates him as it is seen in prehistoric man and social mammals, ingrained in genes which propagated through natural selection .
Where this book falls short , is trying to theorize every single current day socio-cultural phenomena to genetic codes , which sometimes can be testing .
This also shows how moral values which is supposedly conceived by modern man very possibly predates him as it is seen in prehistoric man and social mammals, ingrained in genes which propagated through natural selection .
Where this book falls short , is trying to theorize every single current day socio-cultural phenomena to genetic codes , which sometimes can be testing .
I tried for my boo, but it’s just too boring and white man-y.