Modern Wisdom #520 - Robin Dunbar - The Evolutionary Psychology Of Love
7 snips
Sep 1, 2022 
Robin Dunbar, an anthropologist and evolutionary psychologist from Oxford, dives deep into the essence of love and its evolutionary roots. He discusses why love is integral to our survival, revealing that humans may need more sex than other animals to reproduce. Intriguingly, he explains how finger length can indicate promiscuity and explores the differences in mating practices across cultures. Dunbar also tackles the complexities of love in arranged marriages and highlights the role of female coalitions in parenting, redefining traditional views on relationships.
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Love and Pair Bonding
- Love creates an intense emotional pair bond, a rarity in mammals.
- Humans experience serial monogamy, unlike truly monogamous species like dogs.
Ancestral Polygamy
- Ancestrally, humans leaned towards polygamy, shown by finger length ratios.
- Polygamy is linked to testosterone levels and promiscuity in societies.
Genghis Khan's Descendants
- Genghis Khan and his brothers have millions of living male descendants today because they took women as their wives after conquering a city and killing the city's men.
- This illustrates how polygamy can drastically impact genetic legacies.
