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Dewey Decimal Number: 306.736 EAN: 9780716740049 ISBN: 0716740044 Label: W. H. Freeman Manufacturer: W. H. Freeman Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 227 Publication Date: May 01, 2001 Publisher: W. H. Freeman Studio: W. H. Freeman Editorial Review: Amazon.com Review: Shattering deeply held beliefs about sexual relationships in humans and other animals, The Myth of Monogamy is a much needed treatment of a sensitive issue. Written by the husband and wife team of behavioral scientist David P. Barash and psychiatrist Judith Eve Lipton, it glows with wit and warmth even as it explores decades of research undermining traditional precepts of mating rituals. Evidence from genetic testing has been devastating to those seeking monogamy in the animal kingdom; even many birds, long prized as examples of fidelity, turn out to have a high incidence of extra-pair couplings. Furthermore, now that researchers have turned their attention to female sexual behavior, they are finding more and more examples of aggressive adultery-seeking in "the fairer sex." Writing about humans in the context of parental involvement, the authors find complexity and humor: Baby people are more like baby birds than baby mammals. To be sure, newborn cats and dogs are helpless, but this helplessness doesn't last for long. By contrast, infant Homo sapiens remain helpless for months ... and then they become helpless toddlers! Who in turn graduate to being virtually helpless youngsters. (And then? Clueless adolescents.) So there may be some payoff to women in being mated to a monogamous man, after all. Careful to separate scientific description from moral prescription, Barash and Lipton still poke a little fun at our conceptions of monogamy and other kinds of relationships as "natural" or "unnatural." Shoring themselves up against the inevitable charges that their reporting will weaken the institution of marriage, they make sure to note that monogamy works well for most of those who desire it and that one of our uniquely human traits is our ability to overcome biology in some instances. If, as some claim, monogamy has been a tool used by men to assert property rights over women, then perhaps one day The Myth of Monogamy will be seen as a milestone for women's liberation. --Rob Lightner Product Description: Monogamy may be the rule, but it's not the practice - not even for animals. Using the same DNA fingerprinting technology used in the courtroom, biologists have now been able to trace parenthood in animals for the first time with certainty. The results have been astonishing: Even among those species previously thought to be monogamous, cheating on your mate is common--for both sexes. In The Myth of Monogamy, David Barash and Judith Eve Lipton describe how this new research shows that there is simply no question whether sexual desire for multiple partners is "natural." It is. Similarly, there is no question of monogamy being "natural." It isn’t. Armed with this evidence, scientists have also been able to explain such important questions as why animals (including humans) cheat; why the myth of monogamy was created in the first place; how men and women were sucked into the monogamy hoax; who stands to gain the most by perpetuating the myth of monogamy; and how big of a role procreation plays in the desire to have several sex partners. Finally, The Myth of Monogamy explores the implications of these dramatic new findings for humans, in terms of relationships, parenting, aggression, and more. A provocative new study of an emotionally charged issue, The Myth of Monogamy illuminates a part of our natural make-up that is as fascinating as it is frustrating. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - The Clues to Human NatureThe First Clue The first clue to human nature is that sperm are cheaper than eggs. The bare minimum for females to procreate is to produce the relatively large eggs, spend time being pregnant and nurse their babies. The bare minimum for males is to produce some sperm and spend a few minutes procreating. That means that females have to be choosier than males. The consequences for a female to procreate with an unfit male are large. By contrast, it makes sense for a male to procreate with ... Read More Rating: - very interesting and informativeThe Myth of Monogamy - Review Some reviewers think mistakenly that this book implies that people shouldn't be monogamous. Quite the contrary! The whole point of the book is to show that sexual monogamy (unlike social monogamy) is *unnatural*, when unnatural stands for "rarely occurs in nature", and, in particular, that humans are not *biologically predisposed* to be sexually monogamous. However, the whole point of the last chapter of the book, aptly titled "So What?" is to argue that these ... Read More Rating: - Iconoclasm in fine formPlease ignore the reviews of people here who haven't read the book, or people with an agenda or people talking about "logical fallacies" without seemingly knowing what that means. This book is an examination of the sexual practices of a wide variety of species of animals, including humans. The book concludes that there are significant evolutionary advantages to non-monogamous sexual relationships and there seem to be very clear bodily adaptations that evolved because of this. These points ... Read More Rating: - Very Enlightening & EntertainingMy recommendation is simple. I kept forgetting that it was a factual work, it was so entertaining. I thought I had picked up one of my pleasure reads! Thanks to both of the writers, what a great book. I need to read it again. Rating: - Excellent informationI have been researching human relations for a while and after reading many books about mating, I find this one full of unbiased information about the reality in the animal kingdom. Like the book says,--It is taken for granted that we can learn about human digestion, respiration, or metabolism by studying these processes in other animals, making due allowance, of course, for certain unavoidable differences among different species. The same applies for much, although assuredly behavior.-- Parting ... Read More |
