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Why We Do It: Rethinking Sex and the Selfish Gene Revised Edition

by Niles Eldredge (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars 8
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A major refutation of the almighty status of genes in evolution and human behavior.

Why do people have sex? Is it solely for the purpose of passing on genetic information, or are there other reasons? "A candid, no-punches-pulled interpreter of the core ideas of evolutionary biology" (Science News), author Niles Eldredge unravels the origins of our coital instincts. Whereas other scientists dismiss human sexuality as a helpless response to the same deep-set biological imperatives that govern the behavior of lesser animals, Eldredge points to various examples of customs, taboos, laws, and other cultural forces that run counter to our most primal desires. Directly assaulting the reductionist "selfish gene" theory, whereby sex is reduced to a purely procreative act, Eldredge draws on Darwin's ideas about evolution as well as modern economic theory to describe the delicate cultural and societal interaction that exists between survival, sex, and procreation in the human species. 6 illustrations
Previous page
  1. ISBN-10
    0393326950
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0393326956
  3. Edition
    Revised
  4. Publisher
    W. W. Norton & Company
  5. Publication date
    June 17, 2005
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.8 x 8.3 inches
  8. Print length
    270 pages
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Clear and friendly prose.... Insightful."

About the Author

Niles Eldredge is a paleontologist and a curator at the American Museum of Natural History and the author of many books on evolutionary theory.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company; Revised edition (June 17, 2005)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 270 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393326950
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393326956
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.3 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.3 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 out of 5 stars 8

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Niles Eldredge

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4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
8 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Walt
4.0 out of 5 stars Selfish Gene rebuttal successful
Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2014
Verified Purchase
I enjoyed the book. I found it an easy read. The purpose of Eldredge's book is to rebutt " TheSelfish Gene" theory of Richard Dawkins. He does that very well. He wouldn't have needed an entire book to convince me of that.
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David B Richman
5.0 out of 5 stars Economics and Sex: A Closer Look at Selfish Genes
Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2004
Verified Purchase
It is about time someone stood up for the use of solid data to back up "scientific" claims about the human psyche. Niles Eldredge has now written, I think, a nearly perfect rebuttal to the currently popular, but often undocumented, "selfish gene" view of human nature in his new book "Why we do it."
It is obvious to Eldredge that humans are animals. Indeed it has been known since at least the time of the early Greeks that humans were animals. This is thus not a new discovery, whatever the evolutionary psychologists may claim. It is, however, also true that we (and indeed all organisms) are more than the sum of our genes. Sure there is a "Human Nature." Sure we are not born with a "Blank Slate" personality, infinitely malleable. We are, however, more plastic in our behavior than the extreme "selfish gene" concept would allow. We have to have some plasticity in our behavior because we live in a complex society that requires cooperation. It seems to me that our ability to cooperate is thus as much a part of our nature as our "baser instincts." The question that scientists should ask is not whether murder, rape, thievery, and carnage characterize humans, but why most people do not participate in these antisocial activities!
Eldredge touches on many of these problems in his new book, especially in regard to sex and economics. By economics he means the functions (ingestion of food, drinking water, respiration, digestion, elimination of wastes and undigested food) that allow the organism to survive. Without survival there is no reproduction. In his characteristically clear prose he does a good job of demolishing the strict genetic determinist view of human behavior. Indeed, the so-called genetic determinists are not quite so deterministic in their real lives or in the details of their writing. So-called "blank slate" proponents ("environmental determinists") are often equally closer to "genetic determinists" than they or their rivals would like to admit. Much of the hype about human nature being the determinant of every human action, or conversely nurture being paramount, comes from the popular press and the profit motive (ah- proof of human basic depravity!)
Actually I have quite a bit of respect for (although I don't always agree with) many researchers often lumped as evolutionary psychologists, sociobiologists, or ultra-Darwinists (as Eldredge characterizing them). Of these, works by Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, Daniel Dennett and John Alcock are especially worth reading. Again one has to be careful in characterizing individuals in one "school" of thought as being always in lockstep every other "member." My main gripe is that when some sociobiologists or evolutionary psychologists get carried away by their own rhetoric they will often resort to value-laden anthropomorphic prose (words do matter!), extrapolation beyond their data, and refusal to present valid counter arguments and evidence. Such works, whether based on right or left-leaning political perspectives are nothing more than polemics, and while far too common, have no valid place in science. Despite human failings, the goal of science should be to approach to the closest approximation of reality as possible. Darwin would be appalled by the lack of honest debate often shown in such works! In his "Origin of Species," Darwin summarized and answered (or admitted the apparent validity) of numerous criticisms of his theory.
An example of a spacious argument for a rather bestial human nature is the hypothesis that a tendency to rape is an adaptive feature of human males. I think Eldredge does an especially good job of demolishing this view, based on a critical review written by Frans de Waal. In fact, most rapes do not occur with reproduction in mind as many (if not most) rape victims are either above or below the age of reproduction. Also (although Eldredge mentions it only in passing) many women die as a result of the attack (as the number of young women murdered over the last few years in Juarez testifies), especially in war time. If rape causes pregnancy the fetus is often aborted or the baby is put up for adoption, as noted by Eldredge. When criticized about the fact that rape is obviously currently maladaptive (many, but unfortunately not most, rapists wind up in jail), proponents fall back on the view that it must have evolved back in Pleistocene times, when it was adaptive! How this could ever be documented, short of inventing a time machine, is beyond me. However, as Eldredge points out studies on our close ape relatives and of modern hunter-gatherers do not support the hypothesis. Other rather tenuous arguments for "hard wired" behavioral tendencies have been made by Michael Ruse for wife beating and Stephan Pinker for infanticide.
What it all comes to is that, as near as I can see, humans are a complex weave of genetic and environmental influences that are nearly impossible to separate from each other. Because of this I trust the "expert" no more than I trust religious fanatics or fascists to make social policy.
It is perhaps my own bias that I prefer an at least somewhat indeterminate universe to a totally deterministic one, but I am willing to change my opinion if I am ever shown reasonable evidence that is unequivocal. Certainly Daniel Dennett has tried to make a convincing argument that free will can result from a deterministic system (he can have his cake and eat it too!). At least Dennett is aware of the problem and tries to solve it. However, I (for one) am not yet convinced and Niles Eldredge has, I think, published solid arguments as to why I probably will not be, at least any time soon.
Even if you disagree with him, read this book. For that matter, also read books by Dennett, Hrdy, Alcock, as well as E. O. Wilson, Richard Dawkins, Steven Jay Gould, Ernst Mayr and Richard Lewontin if you are at all interested in the subject. Then make up your own mind!
37 people found this helpful
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Chris Sandoval
2.0 out of 5 stars The author fails to distinguish proximate versus ultimate causes.
Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2017
In order to refute the "selfish gene" theory of Richard Dawkins, Niles Eldredge maintains that our motives for eating and having sex have little if anything to do with the desire for bountiful offspring. His error consists in failure to distinguish between the proximate causes and the ultimate causes of evolutionary change. In general, animal behaviors such as seeking sex and food and avoiding injury and predators have both proximate and ultimate causes. The proximate causes are pain and pleasure, but the ultimate causes are reproductive success upon which selection can act. When hungry rabbits eat supper and suffering rabbits recoil from pain, then of course they are not thinking about having huge broods of baby rabbits—but rabbits who are insensitive to hunger and pain are far more likely to die before they can reproduce than their peers. In short, behaviors contributing to bodily survival in the short run are a necessary if not sufficient condition for success in reproduction in the long run—but reproductive success created the evolution of a rabbit’s desire for food and sex and its avoidance of pain and predators in the first place.

Fairness dictates that I give credit where credit is due. I profited greatly from the journal article cited below, in which Eldredge and his colleagues did a masterful job of reconciling Neo-Darwinism with punctuated equilibrium. His stumbles in one place should not detract from his impressive contributions elsewhere. I hope that Professor Eldredge extends the same courtesy to Professor Dawkins.

Eldredge, Niles, et al. 2005. The dynamics of evolutionary stasis. _Paleobiology_ 13(2): 133–145. (available online)
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Top reviews from other countries

S P Mead
4.0 out of 5 stars a well written and interesting book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 1, 2017
Verified Purchase
This is an interesting, clearly written book that explores the "causes" underlying why humans have sex. While the author acknowledges that the primary reason almost all animals have sex is because of an instinctive drive to reproduce, the case is made that humans are different. We're more complex - as we've evolved to transcend 'instinct'. And in place of innate drives, we possess conscious thought. This has allowed us to adapt the environment around us in sophisticated ways - and build 'society'. In and through society, our personalities are formed and constructed - and we pursue lives (and lifestyles) of our own choosing. As part of this, sex has become a feature of our socially defined, individually pursued lifestyle. It's something we enjoy. And this is the essential reason we have sex.

I find myself rather convinced by the arguments offered in this book. The fact is, 99.9% of all human sex isn't about reproduction. As such, sex for reproduction is statistically insignificant within the wider circumstances of sexual relations. And when reproduction does occur, it's either by conscious choice (it's planned) or it's accidental (e.g. the condom tore). We simply don't go around 'driven' and 'compelled' to mate. In consequence, the theory behind the so-called 'selfish gene' (which contends that we're instinctively controlled by our DNA to reproduce, and must slavishly obey) is nonsense.

This is a refreshing book. It's not exactly a scholarly text - rather, it's intended for a popular audience. And so long as you're not ideologically motivated to reject anything and everything that disagrees with the selfish gene theory, I do recommend this book.
2 people found this helpful
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