The Evolution of Beauty
Book description
A major reimagining of how evolutionary forces work, revealing how mating preferences—what Darwin termed "the taste for the beautiful"—create the extraordinary range of ornament in the animal world.
"A delicious read, both seductive and mutinous.... Minutely detailed, exquisitely observant, deeply informed, and often tenderly sensual."—New York Times Book Review
In…
Why read it?
2 authors picked The Evolution of Beauty as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
My father bought this book for me because I write on marriage and relationships.
I was skeptical that a book about the mating habits of birds had much relevance to my own work, yet I found Prum’s arguments about the connections between birds and humans compelling. According to Prum, female mate selection led to changes in the physical attributes and behaviors of birds and these changes can provide insights into the evolution of human sexuality as well.
As a scholar of marriage, I am very familiar with the argument that men choose partners based on physical attributes while women choose…
The Evolution of Beauty is a passionately written manifesto about the role of female choice in driving the diversity of beauty in the animal world.
Prum revisits Charles Darwin’s original ideas about mate choice and beauty that were looked down on by Darwin’s contemporaries and forgotten by his successors. Prum, an ornithologist, uses exquisite descriptions of bird ornamentation and behavior to argue that beautiful traits like the peacock’s tail arise simply because the beholders of these traits—usually female—find them pleasurable to look at.
While most of the book is about birds, he delves into how mate choice may have transformed…
From Deena's list on capturing the magnificence of female biology.
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