Much of the evolutionary biology that has grabbed headlines in recent years has sprung from the efforts of sociobiologists and evolutionary psychologists to explain sexual features and behavior--even differences between how men and women think--as evolutionary adaptations. They have looked to the forces of natural selection to explain everything from the mimicry of male mockingbirds to female orgasms among humans. In this controversial book, Richard Francis argues that the utility of this approach is greatly exaggerated. He proposes instead a powerful alternative rooted in the latest findings in evolutionary biology as well as research on the workings of our brains, genes, and hormones.
Exploring various sexual phenomena, Francis exposes fundamental defects in sociobiology and evolutionary psychology, which he traces to their misguided emphasis on "why" questions at the expense of "how" questions. Francis contends that this preoccupation with "why" questions (such as, "Why won't men ask for directions"?) results in a paranoiac mindset and distorted evolutionary explanations. His alternative framework entails a broader conception of what constitutes an evolutionary explanation, one in which both evolutionary history, as embodied in the tree of life, and developmental processes are brought to the foreground. This alternative framework is also better grounded in basic biology.
Deeply learned, consistently persuasive, and always engaging, this book is a welcome antidote to simplistic sociobiological exegeses of animal and human behavior.
- 340 pages
- English
- PDF
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF
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Information
Publisher
Princeton University PressYear
2013Print ISBN
9780691124056
9780691057576
eBook ISBN
9781400850693
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title
- Copyright
- Dedication
- CONTENTS
- List of Illustrations
- Acknowledgments
- CHAPTER 1: Darwinian Paranoia
- CHAPTER 2: An Orgasm of One’s Own
- CHAPTER 3: Sex without SEX
- CHAPTER 4: Transgendered
- CHAPTER 5: Alternative Lifestyles
- CHAPTER 6: Social Inhibitions
- CHAPTER 7: Why Does the Mockingbird Mock?
- CHAPTER 8: Brain Ecology
- CHAPTER 9: Why Men Won’t Ask for Directions
- CHAPTER 10: A Textbook Case of Penis Envy?
- CHAPTER 11: Darwin’s Temptress
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
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Yes, you can access Why Men Won't Ask for Directions by Richard C. Francis in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Biological Sciences & Evolution. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.