Product Description

In this brilliantly ambitious and provocative book, evolutionary psychologist Geoffrey Miller shows the evolutionary power of sexual choice, and the reasons why our ancestors became attracted not only to pretty faces and bodies, but to minds that were witty, articulate, generous, and concious.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #129593 in Books
• Published on: 2001-05-31
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 538 pages

Amazon.co.uk 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's analogy is 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 which Miller brings to bear. Steeped in popular culture, it 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 (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 solacing, but denuding sexual chemistry can be a curiously unsexy business, akin to analysing humour. 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

Customer Reviews

Inellectually stimulating rollercoaster ride
Miller's book provides a fascinating, witty journey through the development of human mental, linguistic, behavioural and physical traits, all of which contributed to making those who possessed these traits more attractive. Miller does not skimp on counter-arguments that might weaken his own thesis, but he refrains from indulging in academic hatchet jobs, thus making his book a pleasant spectacle of intellectual fencing, rather than a back alley broken bottle ballet. This is one of the book's main qualities - open intellectual debate - and provides a refreshing change from the flood of one-sided polemic that seems to dominate so much of the media today. A great read.

Innovative development of the selfish gene theory
This book is quite thick, but it is worth to read it through.

The main point of the book is that the origin of several human traits (language, for example) is due, not to natural selection, but to sexual selection. This means that the most powerful force to shape human behaviour has been mate choice (this applies to both males and females). Miller also suggest that we have our huge brain due to sexual selection, because this is the only one that makes possible to keep traits with no immediate evolutive benefit (other that increasing your sex-appeal).

There is a brief comparison between sexual selection and marketing-drive corporations, which is both interesting and enlightening.

The book is very well written and the topic is very interesting. A truly great book.

Why diamonds instead of potatoes?
When Darwin published The Descent of Man in 1872, he raised the issue of why so many species' males invest costly physical resources in sexual displays. His answer was the mating game. Peacock's tails are difficult to lug around, use material that might be better applied elsewhere in the body, and make the bird susceptible to predation. Darwin's answer was the cost was a mating investment - peahens clearly preferred males with the most outstanding displays. Monkeys in the forests and swamp frogs expend similar energy in calling over great distances seeking mates. The females of these species listen, weighing some unknown factor in deciding which male to select to bear their offspring. Can such a strategy be applied to human mating practices?

Geoffrey Miller's answer is a resounding "Yes!" Humans, however, are far more complex than peacocks. In this book, Miller contends that instead of garish tails or mating calls, it is the human brain that provides the mechanisms for mate selection. Like the peacock's tail, the human brain is a costly organ - using 20% of our resources even when resting. Why is the brain so demanding? It has many jobs to do, memory, vision, controlling motion and speech and directing other activities. The human mind's most impressive abilities, Miller states, are "courtship tools, evolved to attract and entertain sexual partners." These "tools" include such seemingly disparate practices as sports, poetry, art and literature. Many of these factors in our lives are the result of language development. Why did these talents evolve, and how do they affect our mate selection? Where some animals offer food as a mating incentive, men offer diamonds, songs or prose. Why not offer something to eat, like a potatoe, instead of a diamond, which lacks practical value?

Miller's argument focusses on "fitness factors" in mating strategies. In humans these are far more complex than in the rest of animal kingdom. In his view, the factors must be mainly expressed by the male, and by adults more than the young. They must be elements that can be judged by females before mating, and the more vivid the presentation, the more likely the mating will be. In human societies, the presentation may not even be displayed by the male, but may be "purchased" - hence, movies, concerts, art objects may be bought in the pursuit of females instead of actually created by the suitor.

And what of the suitor's object of his quest? Are human females simply gawking airheads waiting to see which male displays or buys the best offering in the mating game? Far from it, contends Miller. He makes the claim that will be hotly contested by feminazis, that historically, males predominate in literature, the arts and business. Recognizing that female cognitive skills match those of human males, he argues that the female mind had to evolve in parallel with that of males'. However, their skills reside in assessing the worth of what males are offering. They must make the judgement of which "fitness factors" are the most attractive. Hence, if men developed language ability to "show off" their creativity, women evolved the ability to evaluate how skillfully the men performed. Miller's analysis is not empty rhetoric. He reviews a broad range of behaviour patterns, attributing to each the evolutionary roots likely involved in developing them.

Miller's prose skills are outstanding in this valuable survey. His use of metaphor keeps you smiling as he presents his case. He transforms a Satin Bowerbird into an effete artist at one point. This comical account has the bird, expressing himself just as a Letterman guest might, explaining why the bower nest is under constant niggling attention by the male until its arrangement successfully attracts a mate. It's indicative of Miller's high quality imagination. Make no mistake, however, this book isn't just a frolic promoting Miller's abilities as a raconteur. His message is serious, and what he's proposed requires serious reflection. His thesis explains many facets of the human condition and must be considered earnestly. You may even find something of yourself in this book, which is as good a reason to buy it as any. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]