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90th out of 285 books
—
292 voters
The Mating Mind: How Sexual Choice Shaped the Evolution of Human Nature
by
Geoffrey Miller (Goodreads Author)
At once a pioneering study of evolution and an accessible and lively reading experience, The Mating Mind marks the arrival of a prescient and provocative new science writer. Psychologist Geoffrey Miller offers the most convincing–and radical–explanation for how and why the human mind evolved.
Consciousness, morality, creativity, language, and art: these are the traits that...more
Consciousness, morality, creativity, language, and art: these are the traits that...more
Paperback, 528 pages
Published
April 17th 2001
by Anchor
(first published April 18th 2000)
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One way of looking at this book is that it claims women have been selectively breeding men for the last few hundred thousand years. They've prioritized intelligence, creativity, sensitivity and good parenting skills. And they've done a fine job. As Miller says, in an early chapter: a human male is about 100 times more likely to kill his stepchild than his biological child. Almost unbelievably good news for human stepchildren, if you for instance compare with male lions, who routinely kill the pr...more
A fascinating look at how the process of sexual selection probably shaped our mental abilities. The forces of sexual selection have been largely marginalized in favor of natural selection ever since Darwin, yet it may account for many of the complex mental behaviors that are uniquely human that we find so difficult to explain in survivalist terms. Topics include art, morality, language, creativity, and humor.
The first half of the book spends a lot of time detailing the general forces of sexual s...more
The first half of the book spends a lot of time detailing the general forces of sexual s...more
This is one of the most important books I have read. The concept of sexual selection was proposed by Darwin himself, and he spent more time on it than on natural selection. His inspired insights have lain fallow for a century, but this book brings the matter up with panache. Miller makes a compelling case that much of human speech, artistic drive, morality, and wit resulted from sexual selection. By mechanisms similar to those clearly identified in other species, much of our mental activity serv...more
It’s a heavy book. There are heavy concepts and words that are probably quite light to a biologist or evolutionary psychologist but for me require lots of thought and looking up things. It contains fascinating ideas like:
“The handicap principle suggests that sexual selection could even have favored a masochistic taste for memorable discomfort, since the ability to survive hardship reveals fitness. Even in the carnage of mechanized warfare or the intellectual bloodbath of an academic job intervie...more
“The handicap principle suggests that sexual selection could even have favored a masochistic taste for memorable discomfort, since the ability to survive hardship reveals fitness. Even in the carnage of mechanized warfare or the intellectual bloodbath of an academic job intervie...more
"Survival of the fittest" isn't really what evolution is about. You can survive all you want but if you don't reproduce your genes won't get passed into the future. Geoffrey Miller suggests (along with lots of other things) that human intelligence & culture are largely the result of survival of the sexiest. Lady peacocks like a shiny tail & lady humans like an amusing tale, so to speak.
I am always impressed when very smart people in very technical fields can effectively explain their work to the rest of us. Miller does this, and he does it in an entertaining (and sexy) way.
What I was most impressed with was how compelling this book was, even when laying a foundation that included some things I already knew. Parts of the book even read like fiction, where I was intrigued to turn the page and find out where we were headed next. Miller does a very good job of explaining concepts...more
What I was most impressed with was how compelling this book was, even when laying a foundation that included some things I already knew. Parts of the book even read like fiction, where I was intrigued to turn the page and find out where we were headed next. Miller does a very good job of explaining concepts...more
Ever wondered why guys do goofy stunts or make up limericks while the girls just giggle and whisper to each other?
Then you might be interested in Miller's take on how the human brain evolved from its chimpanzee-like precursor.
Just as in the peacock's tail, almost every human chromosome is involved in the brain's development, so chromosomal problems show up in how your brain works. It also points out that if he is good at knock-knock jokes, and she likes knock-knock jokes, then their kids will p...more
Then you might be interested in Miller's take on how the human brain evolved from its chimpanzee-like precursor.
Just as in the peacock's tail, almost every human chromosome is involved in the brain's development, so chromosomal problems show up in how your brain works. It also points out that if he is good at knock-knock jokes, and she likes knock-knock jokes, then their kids will p...more
I have always been interested in psychology alone and watched more than read on evolution (David Attenborough's life series and the planet earth documentary series), but this book brings these two sciences together in a way that now I can hardly think of each of one separately. I'm new to evolutionary psychology but after reading this book this science sure tops my list of interests.
Geoffrey Miller focuses on Darwin's sexual selection theory, how sexual preferences have driven the species to pro...more
Geoffrey Miller focuses on Darwin's sexual selection theory, how sexual preferences have driven the species to pro...more
I once heard someone say that we evolved ears so that we could wear earrings. No joke. The more classic statement that follows that line of reasoning is the claim that we evolved noses in order to wear glasses. I know, it sounds pretty silly. Evolution is a highly controversial topic and our vague understanding of it has left many important questions unanswered. Darwinian concepts such as “natural selection” and the “survival of the fittest” are certainly relevant when discussing evolution, but...more
Dec 16, 2009
Jonathan
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Gabrielle, Desi Fish
Recommended to Jonathan by:
Claire
First off, I found this book very hard to read. Not because I'm illiterate, but because it just wasn't enjoyable. I've finally just finished it, 14 months after buying it, because I never felt like picking it up and reading another chapter. It feels as though he just restates the same ideas over and over again with too many words. (Though I suppose verbosity might be a good way to impress certain potential mates.)
Despite the praise of science and the chapter's worth of references in the back, it...more
Despite the praise of science and the chapter's worth of references in the back, it...more
3 likes · like · see review
I have read it some time ago, and it would probably be good to read it again, but my impressions were really strong.
His statements are very well argumented and explained. There is a clear logic behind the story. I really reccomend for reading to everybody who are interested in evolution of human.
His statements are very well argumented and explained. There is a clear logic behind the story. I really reccomend for reading to everybody who are interested in evolution of human.
Partially convincing, although I couldn't help feel that this book is itself an example of "human cognition as sexual signaling" in that the author seemed more concerned with developing and articulating interesting insights than in testing his ideas.
Feb 27, 2009
Russell Ramaswamy
added it
This is a brilliant book which discusses Darwin's idea of sexual selection (much lesser known) which works along with natural selection and how it most probably caused our species to become who we are today.
I liked the theories involving sexual selection, but I don't like the author's attitude and writing style - it made me want to throw the book out the window. There is inconsistency in presenting arguments, and the book is unnecessarily long.
Miller does makes an excellent argument in his book. I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in psychology, biology, or human nature.
The one book I was glad to be alive at this time in history to have the pleasure of reading. There is before the book, and after.
from the library c2000
from the cover: GM is a senior research fellow at the Centre for Economic Learning and Social Evolution ar University College, London. PhD from Stanford Univ in cognitive psychology.
God save us from evolutionary psychology masquarading as anything to do with sexology.
The bibliography is terrific, all 20+ pages of it.!!!
ch1 central park
ch2 darwin's prodigy
ch3 the runaway brain
ch4 mind fit for mating
ch5 ornamental genius
ch6 courtship in the Pleistocene
ch7 bodies of evidence
c...more
from the cover: GM is a senior research fellow at the Centre for Economic Learning and Social Evolution ar University College, London. PhD from Stanford Univ in cognitive psychology.
God save us from evolutionary psychology masquarading as anything to do with sexology.
The bibliography is terrific, all 20+ pages of it.!!!
ch1 central park
ch2 darwin's prodigy
ch3 the runaway brain
ch4 mind fit for mating
ch5 ornamental genius
ch6 courtship in the Pleistocene
ch7 bodies of evidence
c...more
As seen on Origins.
it's a bit too speculative for my liking, BUT Miller is a fantastic and funny writer with very interesting ideas.
Really interesting discussion of how sexual selection may have shaped human minds to evolve creativity, music, and art.
Name-checked by Richard Dawkins in The Ancestor's Tale.
This is a layman’s Anthropology book delving into the idea that mate selection could explain all of those inexplicable bits of human behavior like art, music, and language. Maybe humans all those 100’s of thousands of years ago preferred to mate with people who showed a special flair for these qualities just like peahens prefer to mate with peacocks with the most elaborate tails. It was a very interesting read, but I think I’d prefer a concise essay hitting the highpoints. In book form, it got a...more
If you want to know how sexual selection produces diversity and, in the case of the human species, our consciousness... Brilliant... For me it was the final piece in the puzzle for understanding human behaviour... And NO don't tell me Freud already said something about the importance for sexuality for human behaviour... First of all he said so much nonsense that there will always be something for someone to find... And second, his blabbering about sexuality doesn't even come close to the ray of...more
Best book on sexual selection in human evolution.
Aug 27, 2008
Henry Manampiring
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone interested in evolutionary psychology
Impressive thinking from Miller to fill the missing gap of evolutionary psychology. If everything we do and think must have evolutionary purpose, what's the point of creativity, kindness, morality, humour - all of which have no obvious survival benefit?
Enter The Mating Mind. Convincingly pointed out that our mental excesses probably function much like the peacock's tail - they advertise one's fitness for mating purposes. Very hard to resist this theory's plausibility.
Highly enjoyable and illumin...more
I got about 100 pages in. I just couldn't force myself to finish this before it's due at the library.
Maybe I just wasn't in the right frame of mind to read this. But it just kept on getting frustrating. Miller kept on explaining and seemingly trying to prove a theory just to say "but that's probably not right, so here, let me convince you of another theory just to say it's probably not right either."
Maybe I just wasn't in the right frame of mind to read this. But it just kept on getting frustrating. Miller kept on explaining and seemingly trying to prove a theory just to say "but that's probably not right, so here, let me convince you of another theory just to say it's probably not right either."
1 like · like · see review
Brilliant! Not for nothing I encountered so many citations from it in other books. So much fodder for thought and contemplation. I would only deduct half a star for the effort it took me to wade through the first four chapters. I actually finished the book in two goes, and I am absolutely happy I did it. This book is a perfect example of a reward for perseverance.
Just dipped into the intro for this one and found the writing to be needlessly repetitive and rather unengaging. DIdn't read any further.
Nov 19, 2008
Miriam
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Julie
Recommended to Miriam by:
Max Werner
This book blew my mind and just buried some of the old theories about evolutionary psychology I'd learned in college. Yes it has been more than 10 years. The new theories go much further in explaining the complexity of human behavior, especially our deep capacity for love, empathy and altruism.
A lot of this book is Freud vs. Darwin! It also talks about common beliefs like how people think that men want hotties and women want rich dudes. Reading this reminded how important the mind is when it comes to relationships.
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Geoffrey F. Miller, Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of New Mexico, is an American evolutionary psychologist in the tradition of Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett and Steven Pinker.
Miller is a 1987 graduate of Columbia University, where he earned a BA in biology and psychology. He received his PhD in cognitive psychology from Stanford University in 1993 under the guidance of Roger...more
More about Geoffrey Miller...
Miller is a 1987 graduate of Columbia University, where he earned a BA in biology and psychology. He received his PhD in cognitive psychology from Stanford University in 1993 under the guidance of Roger...more
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“Men write more books. Men give more lectures. Men ask more questions after lectures. Men post more e-mail to Internet discussion groups. To say this is due to patriarchy is to beg the question of the behavior's origin. If men control society, why don't they just shut up and enjoy their supposed prerogatives? The answer is obvious when you consider sexual competition: men can't be quiet because that would give other men a chance to show off verbally. Men often bully women into silence, but this is usually to make room for their own verbal display. If men were dominating public language just to maintain patriarchy, that would qualify as a puzzling example of evolutionary altruism--a costly, risky individual act that helps all of one's sexual competitors (other males) as much as oneself. The ocean of male language that confronts modern women in bookstores, television, newspapers, classrooms, parliaments, and businesses does not necessarily come from a male conspiracy to deny women their voice. It may come from an evolutionary history of sexual selection in which the male motivation to talk was vital to their reproduction.”
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8 people liked it
“Existing political philosophies all developed before evolutionary game theory, so they do not take equilibrium selection into account. Socialism pretends that individuals are not selfish sexual competitors, so it ignores equilibria altogether. Conservatism pretends that there is only one possible equilibrium—a nostalgic version of the status quo—that society could play. Libertarianism ignores the possibility of equilibrium selection at the level of rational social discourse, and assumes that decentralized market dynamics will magically lead to equilibria that yield the highest aggregate social benefits. Far from being a scientific front for a particular set of political views, modern evolutionary psychology makes most standard views look simplistic and unimaginitive.”
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4 people liked it
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Apr 12, 2009 09:29am
updated Mar 17, 2012 12:42pm