Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters

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Subtitle: From Dating, Shopping, and Praying to Going to War and Becoming a Billionaire- Two Evolutionary Psychologists Explain Why We Do What We Do

Authors: Alan S. Miller and Satoshi Kanazawa

Genre: Nonfiction

Rating: ***** (5 stars)

Summary:

Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters is an insightful look at how natural selection has influenced how we behave, asserting that certain behavioral tendencies made our ancestors more likely to survive and reproduce, and that we, as their descendants, have the same tendencies, which, taken together, constitute “human nature.” Many of these tendencies are better suited to a world that existed thousands of years ago, rather than the present day, and result in many of our social problems of today.

Beautiful People contrasts evolutionary psychology with the “Standard Social Science Model” of human behavior. The Standard Social Science model asserts that humans are exempt from biological factors that determine the behavior of all animal species, and that human behavior is almost entirely a product of environment and socialization. Evolutionary psychology, on the other hand, asserts that both sociology and evolutionary psychology have value in explaining our behavior.

The authors are quick to warn against thinking that just because something is natural doesn’t mean it is good. Instead, they assert that:

Any solution to a social problem must start with the correct assessment of the problem itself and its possible causes. We can never devise a correct solution to a problem if we don’t know what its ultimate causes are. So true observations are important foundations of both basic science and social policy.

Beautiful People includes a section titled, “Puzzles and Questions,” where it addresses specific questions of human behavior, and shows how evolutionary psychology provides explanations.  The authors cite studies to support their assertions.  Additionally, they provide a long list of questions to which answers had not been fproposed at the time of publication.

My Thoughts:

Beautiful People makes a lot of sense.  I found it to be not only insightful, but a highly entertaining read.  Additionally, I think I gained some insight into my own behavior and that of the people around me.  I appreciated the authors’ intellectual honesty in acknowledging the many questions that remain to be answered.

It is important to note that this book never disparages our intelligence or ability to choose.  It merely explains where our urges and tendencies come from.

Potentially Offensive Content:

Extensive discussion of sex.

Beautiful People touches on a highly controversial and emotional hot-button issue of our time: Evolution.  Those whose religious beliefs preclude any possibility of evolution playing a role in our existence may be offended by it.


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