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Why Sex Matters: A Darwinian Look at Human Behavior.
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 576
EAN: 9780691089751
ISBN: 0691089752
Label: Princeton University Press
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 432
Publication Date: November 01, 2001
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Studio: Princeton University Press
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Editorial Review:Why are men, like other primate males, usually the aggressors and risk takers? Why do women typically have fewer sexual partners? Why is killing infants routine in some cultures, but forbidden in others? Why is incest everywhere taboo? Bobbi Low ranges from ancient Rome to modern America, from the Amazon to the Arctic, and from single-celled organisms to international politics to show that these and many other questions about human behavior largely come down to evolution and sex. More precisely, as she shows in this uniquely comprehensive and accessible survey of behavioral and evolutionary ecology, they come down to the basic principle that all organisms evolved to maximize their reproductive success and seek resources to do so.Low begins by reviewing the fundamental arguments and assumptions of behavioral ecology: selfish genes, conflicts of interest, and the tendency for sexes to reproduce through different behaviors. She explains why in primate species--from chimpanzees and apes to humans--males seek to spread their genes by devoting extraordinary efforts to finding mates, while females find it profitable to expend more effort on parenting. Low illustrates these sexual differences among humans by showing that in places as diverse as the parishes of nineteenth-century Sweden, the villages of seventeenth-century China, and the forests of twentieth-century Brazil, men have tended to seek power and resources, from cattle to money, to attract mates, while women have sought a secure environment for raising children. She makes it clear, however, they have not done so simply through individual efforts or in a vacuum, but that men and women act in complex ways that involve cooperation and coalition building and that are shaped by culture, technology, tradition, and the availability of resources. Low also considers how the evolutionary drive to acquire resources leads to environmental degradation and warfare and asks whether our behavior could be channeled in more constructive ways.
Why are men, like other primate males, usually the aggressors and risk takers? Why do women typically have fewer sexual partners? Why is killing infants routine in some cultures, but forbidden in others? Why is incest everywhere taboo? Bobbi Low ranges from ancient Rome to modern America, from the Amazon to the Arctic, and from single-celled organisms to international politics to show that these and many other questions about human behavior largely come down to evolution and sex. More precisely, as she shows in this uniquely comprehensive and accessible survey of behavioral and evolutionary ecology, they come down to the basic principle that all organisms evolved to maximize their reproductive success and seek resources to do so.
Low begins by reviewing the fundamental arguments and assumptions of behavioral ecology: selfish genes, conflicts of interest, and the tendency for sexes to reproduce through different behaviors. She explains why in primate species--from chimpanzees and apes to humans--males seek to spread their genes by devoting extraordinary efforts to finding mates, while females find it profitable to expend more effort on parenting. Low illustrates these sexual differences among humans by showing that in places as diverse as the parishes of nineteenth-century Sweden, the villages of seventeenth-century China, and the forests of twentieth-century Brazil, men have tended to seek power and resources, from cattle to money, to attract mates, while women have sought a secure environment for raising children.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - THe evolutionary bottom line
The basic answer to why sex matters is that sexual reproduction for most species has led to differences between two sexes and to various competitive reproductive behaviors that affect and permeate all of life itself. Low takes the analysis far into modern human life and this is no easy task. She has written quite short chapters ranging over a wide area of human and non-human behaviors which means that the whole does not flow together as well as it might.
The bulk of the book is evolutionary ... Read More
Rating:  - A book with to many numbers and figures
I bought this book to learn some interisting new facts that I have not heard about before. Well this book didn't do that. Most of the stuff in this book I have read in other places and it was written better. Like The "Red Queen" by Matt Ridley & "Why is Sex Fun" by Jarod Diamond.
This book relies to heavely on statistical data to come up with anything very interisting. I found myself skipping complete pages and chapters because of the boredom for having to read to many statistics.
If you ... Read More
Rating:  - Brilliant, if dense, review of human behavior
Basically, I'm of much the same opinion as most of the other reviewers. It's a thoroughly fascinating book, which actually looks at human behavior as it should be seen: the ecology and interactions of highly inteligent, highly communicate, mostly bald apes. Well worth the read. That said, I must say that without at least some background knowledge in evolutionary biology, you'll find it tough to digest. But such is the way of scientific works, and, frankly, I prefer it as is, rather than loaded down with ... Read More
Rating: - Falls Short
This topic is extremely complex and professor Low , in my opinion, falls short of further elucidating this field. It's breadth is impressive and stimulated me to pick up the book, however, it doesn't seem to be researched comprehensively. There were several significant omissions. For example, the "group selection muddle" is only a problem for biologists who fail to understand group selection. I admit, alot of prominent biologists don't get it, however, any valid review of the topic should reference ... Read More
Rating: - Great but not an easy read
Although a talented scientist, Bobbi Low is not a talented writer. This is a great book for those with some foreknowledge of the subjects of sex and evolutionary psychology, but it might be a little obtuse for the casual reader. Her writing style is somewhat stilted and dry, and she quite often assumes the reader is familiar with prior studies and concepts that are germaine to her point, without explaining those concepts, or at best doing so very obliquely. There is a wealth of information here, though, for those ... Read More
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