The Evolution of Human Sociability: Desires, Fears, Sex and Society

Ron Vannelli

doi:10.1017/CBO9781316335482

How do desires and fears motivate human sociability? What effect do these motivators have on reproductive, social and political behaviour? And, crucially, how might we understand them separate from preconceived notions of design or higher morality? Taking these questions as a focus, this book examines human evolution with the emphasis on sexual selection and the evolution of a number of human psychological processes. Exploring evolutionary, sexual and maturational processes, along with primate, fossil and geological evidence, Vannelli argues that human nature can be conceptualised as species-typical desires and fears, derived from sexual selection during human evolution, and that these are major motivators of behaviour. Presenting additional evidence from the anthropology of band societies, along with material from group behaviour, Vannelli highlights the importance of pair-bonding, friendship, alliance behaviour, vengeance seeking and interpersonal politics in social behaviour, providing a unique interdisciplinary framework for understanding human nature and the evolution of human sociability.

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The Evolution of Human Sociability

Desires, Fears, Sex and Society

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Contents

Half title page
pp i-ii

Title page - Title page
pp iii-iii

Copyright page
pp iv-iv

Dedication
pp v-vi

Contents
pp vii-viii

Acknowledgements
pp ix-x

1 - Introduction
pp 1-23

2 - Human evolution: the background
pp 24-63

3 - The evolution of human species-typical desires and fears
pp 64-110

4 - Bipedalism, brain growth, language and the development of human sociability
pp 111-162

5 - Desires, fears and the evolution of human politics
pp 163-205

6 - Human fears
pp 206-244

7 - A human science, justice and politics
pp 245-272

Bibliography
pp 273-303

Index
pp 304-315

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The Evolution of Human Sociability

Desires, Fears, Sex and Society

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