The Mating Mind: How Sexual Choice Shaped the Evolution of Human Nature [Paperback]

Geoffrey Miller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 17, 2001

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 make us human. Scientists have traditionally explained these qualities as merely a side effect of surplus brain size, but Miller argues that they were sexual attractors, not side effects. He bases his argument on Darwin’s theory of sexual selection, which until now has played second fiddle to Darwin’s theory of natural selection, and draws on ideas and research from a wide range of fields, including psychology, economics, history, and pop culture. Witty, powerfully argued, and continually thought-provoking, The Mating Mind is a landmark in our understanding of our own species.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Evolutionary psychology has been called the "new black" of science fashion, though at its most controversial, it more resembles the emperor's new clothes. Geoffrey Miller is one of the Young Turks trying to give the phenomenon a better spin. In The Mating Mind, he takes Darwin's "other" evolutionary theory--of sexual rather than natural selection--and uses it to build a theory about how the human mind has developed the sophistication of a peacock's tail to encourage sexual choice and the refining of art, morality, music, and literature.

Where many evolutionary psychologists see the mind as a Swiss army knife, and cognitive science sees it as a computer, Miller compares it to an entertainment system, evolved to stimulate other brains. Taking up the baton from studies such as Richard Dawkins' The Selfish Gene, it's a dizzyingly ambitious project, which would be impossibly vague without the ingenuity and irreverence that Miller brings to bear on it. Steeped in popular culture, the book mixes theories of runaway selection, fitness indicators, and sensory bias with explanations of why men tip more than women and how female choice shaped (quite literally) the penis. It also extols the sagacity of Mary Poppins. Indeed, Miller allows ideas to cascade at such a torrent that the steam given off can run the risk of being mistaken for hot air).

That large personalities can be as sexually enticing as oversize breasts or biceps may indeed prove comforting, but denuding sexual chemistry can be a curiously unsexy business, akin to analyzing humor. As a courting display of Miller's intellectual plumage, though, The Mating Mind is formidable, its agent-provocateur chest swelled with ideas and articulate conjecture. While occasionally his magpie instinct may loot fool's gold, overall it provides an accessible and attractive insight into modern Darwinism and the survival of the sexiest. --David Vincent, Amazon.co.uk --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

The booming but controversial field of evolutionary psychology attempts to explain human feelings and behaviors as consequences of natural selection, using plausible analogies from the animal kingdom to show (for example) why we have the capacity to enjoy music, or why men commit violent crimes. Miller, an evolutionary psychologist at University College-London, argues that much of human character and culture arose for the same reason peacocks have beautiful tails: mating purposes. A peacock that can find enough to eat and avoid being eaten despite such an enormous appendage must have very good genes; by displaying its tail, then, a peacock displays its potential to be a good mate. Miller looks at several kinds of sexual selection. "Romantic" behavior like the making of complex art wouldn't have helped our ancestors find more food or avoid predators. It might, however, have helped display the fitness of proto-men for the proto-women with whom they wanted to mate--and vice versa. If we like to show off our large vocabularies, it's at least in part because our ancestors sought smart partners. Miller's enjoyable book also surveys animal kingdom parallels and recent theoretical arguments about sexual selection. Like most popular evolutionary psychologists, however, Miller doesn't always distinguish between a plausible story and a scientifically testable hypothesis. And some of his arguments seem covertly circular, or self-serving: Do we really need Darwin to explain why men publish more books than women? Still, picturing "the human brain as an entertainment system that evolved to stimulate other brains," Miller provides an articulate and memorable case for the role of sexual selection in determining human behaviors. Agent, John Brockman.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Anchor (April 17, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038549517X
• ISBN-13: 978-0385495172
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.9 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #108,522 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #30 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Evolution > Organic

More About the Author

Geoffrey Miller is an evolutionary psychologist best known for his books The Mating Mind (2001) and Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior (2009). He received a B.A. with dual honors in psychology and biology from Columbia University (1987) and a Ph.D. in experimental psychology from Stanford University (1993). After his Ph.D., he worked at the University of Sussex, University of Nottingham, University College London, and the Max Planck Institute for Psychological Research in Munich. In 2001 he moved to University of New Mexico, where he is associate professor of psychology. His research focuses on the evolutionary origins and adaptive functions of human creativity, art, music, humor, emotions, on the evolutionary genetics of intelligence, personality, and mental illness, and on applications of evolutionary psychology to consumer behavior, product design, and public policy. He has published about 40 journal papers and 40 book chapters, and has given about 120 invited talks around the world. His research has been featured in Nature, Science, The New York Times, The Washington Post, New Scientist, and The Economist, on NPR and BBC radio, and in documentaries on CNN, PBS, Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel, and BBC.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The sexiest nonfiction book I have read yet!, May 4, 2004

By 

Susan L. (Birmingham, AL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mating Mind: How Sexual Choice Shaped the Evolution of Human Nature (Paperback)

I could not put this book down. Any student in psychology or biology should read this book. Any man who would like to understand the underlying reasons of what works on the flirtation market should read this book. This book was down right sexy. Do not start reading it with modern societies' moralities in mind. What it means to be human and human sexuality is a lot older than modern views on sex. This book explores the reasons behind all the things we do in order to "get some". A wonderfully informative read. The only reason I did not give 5 stars was that I was looking for more specific information gleaned from specific studies. Some readers may not need that but I was looking for it. I love it that my favorite book "Clan of the Cave Bear" was cited. (Not in a supportive way but I was still glad to see it mentioned anyway.)

110 of 133 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Literary Masterpiece, April 24, 2000

By 

Herbert Gintis (Northampton, MA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Mating Mind: How Sexual Choice Shaped the Evolution of Human Nature (Hardcover)

Geoffrey Miller is a wonderful writer, fully in command of the theory and evidence in evolutionary biology, evolutionary psychology, and animal behavior. He is also widely read in the arts and popular culture. He has a fertile imagination and a creative bent that makes reading his ideas a real pleasure. This book is, as they say, "a good read."

But is it correct? Miller tries to explain the mystery of human intellect and creativity. Why would a creature (us) who evolved under the most primitive of material conditions, who lacked even sedentary agriculture until 10,000 years ago, have evolved the mental capacity for beauty, wit, rhythm, and truth? His answer is: sexual (as opposed to survival) selection. In short we are smart and talented because women preferred to mate with smart and talented men.

There is a problem, however. There are two theories of sexual selection: runaway selection (associated with Darwin and Ronald Fisher), and the handicap principle (Zahavi). Most of Miller's arguments require the former (although he formally disavows this early in the book), while the latter is probably the only plausible model of sexual selection.

For instance, the idea that we have large brains because women prefer intelligent men, even if intelligence imposes a fitness cost on men, is plausible only if intelligence is a signal of a superior fitness in some other hidden area (e.g., a lower parasite load). But I cannot think of one such area, nor does Miller supply one. Intelligence may have direct fitness benefits for humans, but that is NOT sexual selection, but straightforward selection for survivability.

In short, I think Miller is wrong, and I know there is no quantitative evidence for his 'just-so story,' but I loved the book anyway.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If virtual reality gets cheaper than dating......, July 14, 2004

By 

Rupesh Verma "bibliophilus omnivorous" (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mating Mind: How Sexual Choice Shaped the Evolution of Human Nature (Paperback)

When virtual reality gets cheaper than dating, society is doomed......the title is Dogbert's succinct perspective of evolutionarty psychology focusing on human sexual choice and male courtship effort.

As a neophyte I was impressed with the intriguing ideas evenly sprinkled throught the book. Principal among these was the runaway brain, fitness indicators and the handicap principle that Miller uses as a basis to explain human mind's intricate evolution. Miller tries to argue that any form of sexual selection for fitness indicators should even out genetic variation in fitness - which means if females favor tall males then all males should be tall. Yet we dont see that and the differences remain in the species - so why does evolution allows such differences. Another interesting idea, originally proposed by Zahavi, is the handicap principle - which is advertising fitness and "sexual ornamentation" by handicapping an individual with a survival cost. It basically means fit peacocks showing off extravagant plumage to attract mates even if it means making themselves more prone to predators or simply carrying the extra load around risking their survial. Highly evolved fitness indicators means using costly signals to attract a mate. In human terms it might transform to - you buying an expensive diamond ring from Cartier for your lady-love fully aware that its gonna make a dent in your pocket, will add no survival benefit whatsoever to you or her but yet show her that you make so much money that not only you can buy that ring but you are willing to devote tremendous personal resources to win her.

Evolution of human morality - which itself is a costly indicator, may also have been selected through sexual choice. Morally uninspiring traits have evolved to be sexual turn-offs in human male-female dynamics. One entire book on this is Origins of Virtue by Matt Ridley. Moreover generosity to blood relatives could be genetic selfishness. It was rather surprising to read that even art could have been evolved through sexual choice. Hand-axes could have been the first Objects 'de Art - some were too cumbersome and costly to have been practically used - might suggest at mental and physical fitness value. Art is afterall an application of skill beyond the necessary and some of them might have been crafted just for asthetic value. All fitness indicators are hence costly and used to enchance sexual status and find out for yourself whether the converse is true.

The book has so many compelling ideas that any one review cannot do justice to it. If you are still undecided about buying a book on evolutionary psychology, this one is highly recommended. By the way, it would not be a bad idea to read this book with one of Leil Lowndes. Although they deal with varied disciplines, you'll find that they complement each other.