BIOLOGY OF LUST

THE BIOLOGY OF LUST

NEWSWEEK (2008) 2/18

BEGLEY (53)

EVIOUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY sees humans in terms of 3 criteria. They are: 1) humans are not blank slates, but rather a combination of both nature and nurture. This premise has overwhelming support from almost all corners of academia. However, when description of human activities arises nurture gets pushed off into the corner. Biology is emphasized probably because nurture was so prevalent in the previous academic cycle. It is now being citied for going too far in one direction.  This is the point of Begley’s article. 2. Humans are basically bad. This one is in reaction to the third school in psychology where the belief was that all humans can be rehabilitated. Evolutionary psychology wants to nudge humans to goodness, but not try to force them. Again, this seems to compliment human conventional thought and organized religion. Man is bad saved by the church. Further, numerous rehab strategies have failed. 3. There isn’t a God or a soul. If you take parts of the brain away from an individual the self and soul are gone. However, this one is very controversial .Many say that after-life resurrection of folks up to 3 days dead strongly suggests that death is more than a rush of endorphins.

Now is Begley’s critique on lust. A new study of lap dancers suggests that they receive higher tips when they are ovulating. The evolutionary psych approach is that when the lap dancer is conducting her activity while ovulating, she sends out pheromones and hormones. Thus, males are continually trying to maximize their offspring and so tip higher in hopes of copulation later. THERE IS LITTLE EVIDENCE THAT AT ANY LEVEL OF CONSCIOUSNESS MEN CAN SENSE PHERMONES. AND RELATED. This previous statement is also controversial.

By the way, men want to have sex with many partners, but they don’t want babies to come from that. Women want men that are good sex, and good resources, so they don’t want babies either until they have established a solid resource. Last, although much rarer, men strip for women.

So Begley is saying. Maybe lap dancing is a lot simpler and much less evolutionary.

Females in the middle of their sex cycle feel sexier, can lap dance sexier and thus get more and higher tips.

Finally, there is a mild back lash to EVOLTUTINARY PSYCHOLOGY. That is to bring more nurture back into the equation. As the information builds up, there should emerge NEO-EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY. This does not mean that this theoretical perspective is gone, rather it will be modified. Humans do have a combo of nature/nurture. Do lap dancers come from certain backgrounds where dad, big brother, or neighbor violated them and broke down their barriers?  Additionally, there appears to be a number of humans who when war starts try to avoid it and hide in the hills. And the last is God. Ultimately, we don’t know if there is a God. We take the leap of faith. At the moment, evolutionary psych people are fundamentalist atheist. Fundamentalism is beginning to change or moderate. Maybe these folks will too.

If this Neo- Evolutionary position emerges count on Steven Pinker to present it as he is an excellent writer and speaker. .