The Latest Studies on Sexual Attraction Would Make Darwin Sick
But it explains why evolutionary psychology is problematic.
"[It] makes me sick," wrote Darwin in a letter to Harvard botanist Asa Gray in 1860.
The sickening "it" was a peacock's tail. Darwin went to his deathbed, not understanding why a male peacock had a conspicuously beautiful plumage that might attract peahens (female peacocks) but would also attract predators. You can't pass on your genes if you become dinner.
Since Darwin plucked his first peacock feather, evolutionary psychologists have attached myriad explanations for the peacock's conspicuous tail. The most common theory is that birds with flashy, heavy tails must be pretty badass to survive predators. That would be the equivalent of a man being attracted to a woman in three-inch stilettos not only because they make her legs look shapely but because she can sprint in them. It's a stretch.
But a peacock's plumage is one of the many "just-so-stories" told by evolutionary psychology — the science that explains behaviors and traits within the framework of evolution.
These tales make interesting dinner conversations, but why humans choose a particular mate often defies reasoning.
