Sex, murder, and the meaning of life : a psychologist investigates how evolution, cognition, and complexity are revolutionizing our view of human nature
by
 
Kenrick, Douglas T.

Title
Sex, murder, and the meaning of life : a psychologist investigates how evolution, cognition, and complexity are revolutionizing our view of human nature

Author
Kenrick, Douglas T.

ISBN
9780465020447

Personal Author
Kenrick, Douglas T.

Publication Information
New York : Basic Books, c2011.

Physical Description
xiii, 238 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.

Contents
Standing in the gutter : how did an innocent young student accidentally fall in with a band of intellectual revolutionaries? -- Why playboy is bad for your mental mechanisms : when is beauty bad for you? -- Homicidal fantasies : why have most of us had at least one fantasy about committing murder? -- Outgroup hatred in the blink of an eye : why can't we all just get along? -- The mind as a coloring book : why doesn't cultural variation support the blank slate view of the mind? -- Subselves : the three faces of thee -- Reconstructing Maslow's pyramid : where are the missing bricks in the classic pyramid of needs? -- How the mind warps : why do men and women forget different people and regret different things? -- Peacocks, Porsches, and Pablo Picasso : why do men go out of their way to avoid a Consumer Reports best buy? -- Sex and god : when is godliness just another mating strategy? -- Deep rationality and evolutionary economics : why are behavioral economists only half right when they say that our economic choices are irrational? -- Bad crowds, chaotic attractors, and humans as ants : why your parents were right about the company you keep -- Conclusion: looking up at the stars : how does research on unsavory and taboo topics converge into a grand view of human nature and answer the question : what is the meaning of life?

Abstract
The founder of social evolutionary psychology argues that many apparently ingrained human behaviors--including prejudice, over-consumption, and religious devotion--are actually easier to explain and avoid than one would imagine.

Subject Term
Cognitive science.
 
Evolution (Biology)
 
Human evolution.
 
Social psychology.
 
Sex.
 
Aggressiveness.


LibraryMaterial TypeItem BarcodeShelf NumberCopy
IIEMSAGeneral Books33168025538980153 K36S 20111