Evolution of Human Behavior

by Fuentes, Agustin

• ISBN13: 9780195333589
• ISBN10: 0195333586
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-12-05
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• More Book Details

Summary

Evolution of Human Behavior is the first text to synthesize and compare the major proposals for human behavioral evolution from an anthropological perspective. Ideal for courses in the evolution of human behavior, human evolutionary ecology, evolutionary psychology, and biological anthropology, this unique volume reviews a wide array of approaches--including human behavioral ecology, evolutionary psychology, memetics, and gene-culture co-evolution--on how and why humans evolved behaviorally. Its overview of current and emerging theoretical practices and perspectives offers a novel resource for both students and practitioners. Author Agustin Fuentes incorporates recent innovations in evolutionary theory with emerging perspectives from genomic approaches, the current fossil record, and ethnographic studies. He examines basic assumptions about why humans behave as they do, the facts of human evolution, patterns of evolutionary change in a global environmental-temporal context, and the interconnected roles of cooperation and conflict in human history. The net result is a text that moves toward a more holistic understanding of the patterns of human evolution and a more integrated perspective on the evolution of human behavior. Features *Accessible, student-friendly writing style offers a concise survey of human behavioral evolution for anthropology and psychology undergraduates *Pedagogical aids--including summary charts and tables, suggested readings, and a glossary of key terms--enhance the text *Provides extensive tabular charts comparing the components of the major perspectives and proposals in human behavioral evolution to aid students' understanding of the material *Illustrative and contemporary examples of research in the area of human behavior engage students

Author Biography

Agustin Fuentes is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of Core Concepts in Biological Anthropology (2006) and coauthor/editor of Health, Risk and Adversity (2008), Primates in Perspective (OUP, 2006), Primates Face to Face: The Conservation Implications of Human - Nonhuman Primate Interconnections (2002), and The Nonhuman Primates (1999).

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
The Relevance of Understanding Human Behavioral Evolution	p. 3
Theories and Hypotheses about Behavioral Evolution: Why Are They Relevant?	p. 5
Evolution Is Frequently Misunderstood	p. 5
We Need to Understand Who We Are	p. 6
Practical Issues such as Medicine and Public Health Can Benefit from an Understanding of Behavioral Evolution	p. 7
Misunderstanding Human Behavioral Evolution Can Result in Potentially Dangerous Ideas	p. 8
A Simple Example of Behavioral Evolution	p. 11
Mutation	p. 13
Gene Flow	p. 13
Genetic Drift	p. 14
Selection	p. 14
Development	p. 14
Why Give This Example?	p. 14
Why We Behave Like Humans: Historical Perspectives and Basal Assumptions	p. 16
Charles Darwin and the Descent of Man	p. 17
Alfred Russel Wallace and the Evolution of the Mind	p. 19
Between Darwin and Sociobiology	p. 21
Spencer, Baldwin, and Morgan: Biology, Psychology, and the Behavioral Evolution of the Human Mind	p. 21
The Modern Synthesis	p. 24
Washburns' New Physical Anthropology, and the Emergence of an Evolutionary Anthropology of Behavior	p. 26
Tinbergen's Four Questions and Their Impact on the Understanding of Behavior	p. 28
The Revolution of Sociobiology, Kin Selection, and Selfish Genes: The New Synthesis	p. 29
Hamilton and Kin Selection	p. 30
Robert Trivers and Reciprocal Altruism	p. 31
E.O. Wilson, Evolutionary Sociobiology and the Autocatalysis Model	p. 32
Dawkins and the Selfish Gene	p. 34
Suggested Readings	p. 36
Modern Perspectives for Understanding Human Behavioral Evolution: A Review of Basic Assumptions, Structures, and Practice	p. 37
Human Behavioral Ecology	p. 38
Basic Overview of HBE	p. 39
Evolutionary Psychology	p. 44
The Adapted Mind	p. 45
Goals and Methods	p. 47
Contrast with SSSM Specific Approach	p. 48
Gene-Culture Coevolution (or Dual Inheritance Theory)	p. 52
Memetics	p. 57
Summing Up	p. 59
Suggested Readings	p. 63
Basic Bones and Stones: What Do We Know About the Record of Human Evolution (as of 2008)?	p. 64
Comparative Primatology Establishes a Baseline for Human Behavior	p. 64
Very Brief Summary of Human Fossil Record (
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