In this conference, Bobbi S. Low discusses Charles Darwin and the significance of his classic book On the Origin of Species. She talks about the theory of natural selection, sex differences among various species including humans, and the implications of parental investment in the next generation. Low also compares life patterns among primates and humans and explores how marriage and mating systems are played out in both traditional and modern societies.
Bobbi S. Low
Bobbi S. Low is a professor at the School of Natural Resources and Environment (SNRE) and a research affiliate of the Population Studies Center (PSC) at the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on the use of evolutionary theory to understand human activities; such as ecological aspects of marriage systems, sex differences in resource use, and the behavioral ecology of conservation. Her other research interests include, evolutionary and behavioral ecology of wildlife species, resource control and reproductive success in vertebrates, and the integration of evolutionary theory and resource management. She holds a PhD and a MA in evolutionary zoology from the University of Texas at Austin, and a BA in biology from the University of Louisville. Low is author of the book Why Sex Matters: A Darwinian Look at Human Behavior.
A Darwinian Look at Human Behavior: How Darwin's Dangerous Idea Matters Today Bobbi S. Low
Milton Friedman Auditorium Universidad Francisco Marroquín Guatemala, February 12, 2009
A New Media - UFM production. Guatemala, February 2009 Camera: Mynor de León; digital editing: Claudia de Obregón; index and synopsis: Fernando Granadino; content revisers: Daphne Ortiz, Jennifer Keller; publication: Mario Pivaral / Carlos Petz
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons 3.0 License Este trabajo ha sido registrado con una licencia Creative Commons 3.0
Slides
Content
Initial credits
Charles Darwin's 200th birthday
On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin
Controversy
Falsifiability
Karl Popper
Knowing when to leave a question
Theory of natural selection
Human fertility patterns
What is a species?
Phylogeny
Evolution of complexity
William Paley's teleological argument
The Blind Watchmaker, Richard Dawkins
Natural selection
Heritable variation
Homicidal men of a Dutch family
Falsifiability
Knowing when to leave a question
Honeybees example
Sex differences
Parents' influence on baby boys and girls
Anisogamy
Characteristics of eggs and sperm
Disruptive selection
Successful organisms
Successful gametes
Survivorship curve
Mating effort
Parental effort
Robert Triver's parent-offspring conflict
Elephant seals example
Males
Females
Signals
"Unbluffably expensive"
Human behavioral ecology
Social environment
The Woman Warrior, Maxine Hong Kingston
Sexual and social differences between humans and primates
Huge variation
Mating systems
Human traits
Age at weaning and maturity
Neonatal brains
Life patterns
Biologists' definition of population
Sociality
Traditional societies
Marriage patterns
Yanomamo society
Unokai
Yomut Turkmen society
Different treatment for boys and girls
Historical societies
Family lines
Swedish society
Differences among poor and rich girls
Differences among poor and rich boys
Modern societies
Population
Women's age when first child is born
Average age at first birth in New Zealand
Differences between women's lives around the world
Reproductive costs
"The Fifty Most Powerful Women in American Business,"
Fortune magazine
Darwin on number of babies and investment in each one
Investment in offspring
Women, fertility and policy
Bottom lines
Comment and question period
Longevity of women in Spain
Value of a woman's education and background
What would Darwin think about consciousness and commitment in nature? How would he explain the higher fertility and population rates in poor societies like Latin American and Africa?
Consciousness and commitment
Self-awareness
Higher fertility in poor societies
United Nations Development Programme data on life expectancy and World Bank data on age-specific fertility
Total fertility rate (TFR)
Why aren't humans hermaphrodite?
How would Darwin explain a woman having eight babies at a time?
Is the sex ratio in humans about 50/50?
How much have fertility rates been affected by contraception? What are the evolutionary reasons behind homosexuality?
Does sperm have disadvantages due to its lesser heritability?
José Ortega y Gasset on the difference between animals and humans. Is the middle ground a parent?
Final credits
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