Why We Do It by Niles Eldredge

Why We Do It by Niles Eldredge

Regular price
Checking stock...
Regular price
Checking stock...
Summary

Over the last thirty years, many scientists have come to insist that our behaviour is governed by our genes - above all when it comes to sex, which, we are told, is how genes perpetuate themselves. Not so, argues evolutionary biologist Niles Eldredge.

The feel-good place to buy books
  • Free US shipping over $15
  • Buying preloved emits 41% less CO2 than new
  • Millions of affordable books
  • Give your books a new home - sell them back to us!

Why We Do It by Niles Eldredge

Why do people have sex? Is it solely for the purpose of passing on genetic information, or are there other reasons? A candid, no-punches-pulled interpreter of the core ideas of evolutionary biology (Science News), author Niles Eldredge unravels the origins of our coital instincts. Whereas other scientists dismiss human sexuality as a helpless response to the same deep-set biological imperatives that govern the behavior of lesser animals, Eldredge points to various examples of customs, taboos, laws, and other cultural forces that run counter to our most primal desires. Directly assaulting the reductionist selfish gene theory, whereby sex is reduced to a purely procreative act, Eldredge draws on Darwin's ideas about evolution as well as modern economic theory to describe the delicate cultural and societal interaction that exists between survival, sex, and procreation in the human species.
Niles Eldredge is a paleontologist and a curator at the American Museum of Natural History and the author of many books on evolutionary theory.
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9780393050820
ISBN 10 0393050823
Title Why We Do It
Author Niles Eldredge
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Hardback
Publisher WW Norton & Co
Year published 2004-06-15
Number of pages 272
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.