Why men won't ask for directions : the seductions of sociobiology
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Why men won't ask for directions : the seductions of sociobiology
（Princeton paperbacks）
Princeton University Press, c2004
Available at 1 libraries
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. [257]-310) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Much of the evolutionary biology that has grabbed headlines in recent years has sprung from the efforts of sociobiologists and evolutionary psychologists to explain sexual features and behaviour - even differences between how men and women think - as evolutionary adaptations. They have looked to the forces of natural selection to explain everything from the mimicry of male mockingbirds to female orgasms among humans. In this controversial book, Richard Francis argues that the utility of this approach is greatly exaggerated. He proposes instead an alternative rooted in the latest findings in evolutionary biology in the early-21st century, as well as research on the workings of our brains, genes and hormones. Exploring various sexual phenomena, Francis exposes fundamental defects in sociobiology and evolutionary psychology, which he traces to their misguided emphasis on "why" questions at the expense of "how" questions. Francis contends that this preoccupation with "why" questions (such as, "Why won't men ask for directions"?) results in a paranoiac mindset and distorted evolutionary explanations.
His alternative framework entails a broader conception of what constitutes an evolution
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations ix Acknowledgments xi Chapter 1 Darwinian Paranoia 1 Chapter 2 An Orgasm of One's Own 10 Chapter 3 Sex without SEX 19 Chapter 4 Transgendered 36 Chapter 5 Alternative Lifestyles 51 Chapter 6 Social Inhibitions 75 Chapter 7 Why Does the Mockingbird Mock? 102 Chapter 8 Brain Ecology 124 Chapter 9 Why Men Won't Ask for Directions 150 Chapter 10 A Textbook Case of Penis Envy? 175 Chapter 11 Darwin's Temptress 192 Notes 201 Bibliography 257 Index 311
by "Nielsen BookData"