Draws on the principles of evolutionary biology to provide fresh insights into the world of literature to explain why certain literary works have had a profound influence on human life, arguing that the behavior of icons of literature reveals a universal human nature that has evolved over millions of years of natural selection. Reprint.

What can elephant seals tell us about Homer¿s ¿Iliad¿? How do gorillas illuminate the works of Shakespeare? What do blood-sucking bats have to do with John Steinbeck? The answers lie in evolution. Our behavior has been shaped by millions of years of natural selection. The ways we fall in and out of love, compete against our enemies, and squabble with our families have their roots in biological imperatives we share not only with other primates but with an array of other creatures. The natural forces that drive animals in general and ¿Homo sapiens¿ in particular are clearly visible in the creatures of literature. This book is both an accessible introduction to an exciting area of science and a provocatively sideways look at our cherished literary heritage.

For all that science knows about the living world, there are even more things that we don't know. They include such questions as why do women experience orgasm, menstruation and menopause, why do men have a shorter lifespan than women, and why does homosexuality exist? This book explores some of these mysteries.

Now available in paperback?a provocative new look at biology, evolution, and human behavior ?as disturbing [as it is] fascinating? (Publishers Weekly). Why are most neurosurgeons male and most kindergarten teachers female? Why aren?t there more women on death row? Why do so many male politicians ruin their careers with sex scandals? Why and how do we really fall in love? This engaging book uses the latest research from the field of evolutionary psychology to shed light on why we do the things we do?from life plans to everyday decisions. With a healthy disregard for political correctness, Miller and Kanazawa reexamine the fact that our brains and bodies are hardwired to carry out an evolutionary mission? an inescapable human nature that actually stopped evolving about 10,000 years ago.

The Perpetual Orgy is Mario Vargas Llosa's brilliant analysis of Gustav Flaubert's masterpiece Madame Bovary. In this remarkable book, "we not only enjoy a dazzling explication, but experience a master discoursing at the top of his form on the craft of the novel" (Robert Taylor, The Boston Globe). It is a tribute to The Perpetual Orgy that it sends the reader back to Flaubert's work with renewed interest.

These essays demonstrate the sweeping influence of the human nervous system on the rise of literature and sensibility in early modern Europe. The brain and nerves have usually been treated as narrow topics within the history of science and medicine. Now George Rousseau, an international authority on the relations of literature and medicine, demonstrates why a broader context is necessary. The nervous system was a crucial factor in the rise of recent civilization. More than any other body part, it holds the key to understanding how far back the strains and stresses of modern life - fatigue, depression, mental illness - extend.

This book compares two competing theories of human nature: the more traditional theory espoused in different forms by centuries of western philosophy and the newer, Darwinian model. In the traditional view, the human being is a hybrid being, with a lower, animal nature and a higher, rational or “spiritual” component. The competing Darwinian account does away with the idea of a higher nature and attempts to provide a complete reduction of human nature to the evolutionary goals of survival and reproduction. Whitley Kaufman presents the case that the traditional conception, regardless of one's religious views or other beliefs, provides a superior account of human nature and culture. We are animals, but we are also rational animals. Kaufman explores the most fundamental philosophical questions as they relate to this debate over human nature—for example: Is free will an illusion? Is morality a product of evolution, with no objective basis? Is reason merely a tool for promoting reproductive success? Is art an adaptation for attracting mates? Is there any higher meaning or purpose to human life? Human Nature and the Limits of Darwinism aims to assess the competing views of human nature and present a clear account of the issues on this most pressing of questions. It engages in a close analysis of the numerous recent attempts to explain all human aims in terms of Darwinian processes and presents the arguments in support of the traditional conception of human nature.