Topic
The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex
Comments
Ask this entity anything:
Free account · your comment posts right after signup
Topic
Free account · your comment posts right after signup
The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex is a book by English naturalist Charles Darwin, first published in 1871, which applies evolutionary theory to human evolution, and details his theory of sexual selection, a form of biological adaptation distinct from, yet interconnected with, natural selection. Darwin used the word "descent" to mean lineal descendant of ancestors. The book discusses many related issues, including evolutionary psychology, evolutionary ethics, evolutionary musicology, differences between human races, differences between sexes, the dominant role of women in mate choice, and the relevance of the evolutionary theory to society.
“It has often and confidently been asserted, that man's origin can never be known: but ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science.”
“My object in this chapter is solely to shew that there is no fundamental difference between man and the higher mammals in their mental faculties.”
“Most of the more complex emotions are common to the higher animals and ourselves. Every one has seen how jealous a dog is of his master's affection, if lavished on any other creature; and I have observed the same fact with monkeys. This shews that animals not only love, but have the desire to be loved.”
“Disinterested love for all living creatures, the most noble attribute of man.”
“It may be doubted whether any character can be named which is distinctive of a race and is constant.”
“When the principles of breeding and of inheritance are better understood, we shall not hear ignorant members of our legislature rejecting with scorn a plan for ascertaining by an easy method whether or not consanguineous marriages are injurious to man.”
Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.