The Evolution of Beauty

How Darwin's Forgotten Theory of Mate Choice Shapes the Animal World - and Us

By: Richard O. Prum

Narrated by: Dan Woren

A major reimagining of how evolutionary forces work, revealing how mating preferences - what Darwin termed "the taste for the beautiful" - create the extraordinary range of ornament in the animal world.

In the great halls of science, dogma holds that Darwin's theory of natural selection explains every branch on the tree of life: which species thrive, which wither away to extinction, and what features each evolves. But can adaptation by natural selection really account for everything we see in nature?

Yale University ornithologist Richard Prum - reviving Darwin's own views - thinks not. Deep in tropical jungles around the world are birds with a dizzying array of appearances and mating displays: club-winged manakins who sing with their wings, great argus pheasants who dazzle prospective mates with a four-foot-wide cone of feathers covered in golden 3-D spheres, red-capped manakins who moonwalk. In 30 years of fieldwork, Prum has seen numerous display traits that seem disconnected from, if not outright contrary to, selection for individual survival. To explain this, he dusts off Darwin's long-neglected theory of sexual selection, in which the act of choosing a mate for purely aesthetic reasons - for the mere pleasure of it - is an independent engine of evolutionary change.

Mate choice can drive ornamental traits from the constraints of adaptive evolution, allowing them to grow ever more elaborate. It also sets the stakes for sexual conflict, in which the sexual autonomy of the female evolves in response to male sexual control. Most crucially, this framework provides important insights into the evolution of human sexuality, particularly the ways in which female preferences have changed male bodies, and even maleness itself, through evolutionary time.

The Evolution of Beauty presents a unique scientific vision for how nature's splendor contributes to a more complete understanding of evolution and of ourselves.

©2017 Richard O. Prum (P)2017 Random House Audio

Interesting ideas. A little oversold.

This book is definitely worth a listen.
A quick technical note. The narrator was great. I kind of wish they added actual bird calls. The narrator did an admirable job mimicking them. It makes sense in an audiobook that they could play actual recordings.
Regarding the content.
All in all, I agree with the author. I think Evolutionists can often overlook anything other than Natural Selection as a force for evolution. And I think that his theory of aesthetic selection is reasonable. Of course, most evolutionary biologists would agree, but they do tend to minimize.
That being said, I absolutely don't think the aesthetic selection should be the null hypothesis, which he argues for, and I don't like when he turns to conspiracies and cultural biases as to why it isn't more widely accepted.
Still a good book that is worth listening to.

Explains a lot about evolution I wondered about

The first few chapters were a delight to listen to. The later ones were more dense and harder to concentrate on as I drove, I think partly because of the topic, development of human sexual parts. I have a really prim side sometimes. The birds were definitely easier, and totally fascinating.

Making Sense of Art and Sex

If you are a person who has been fascinated by Darwin’s Theory of Evolution then this is a must read.
In fact, Darwin had two major theories, one of which has been subsumed because it does not fit the “modern” construct of dominant males and passive females that undergirds so much of our cultural experience in America and worldwide. Professor Prum’s radical approach to include both of Darwin’s major theories as an explanation for evolution including the sexual autonomy of both sexes in sexual selection as influenced by an expansive definition of beauty is compelling. The set up is in the whole first section of the book as explained through adaptation by one of the most ancient species on earth - birds. I’m not a birder, but I was riveted all through the section. The second portion of the book applies scientist’s (ornithologist ‘s) research to the contemporary human experience as regards sexual choice of women, men and the full spectrum of the LGBT communities and the relationship of beauty and art in this process - a central postulate of Darwin’s original work. Fascinating and profound.

Bold and Thought-Provoking

Characteristically Prum - challenging paradigms and perched precariously on the edge of what we think we know. An invigorating exploration of the evolutionary forces that may have brought beauty into the world, often against the intuitive will of natural selection.

Sexual Selection in an Old Light

Evolution of Beauty looks at the theory of Sexual Selection from the idea proposed by Darwin to our current day synthesis of ideas. The book argues for re-elevating this mechanism to the prominence that it deserves. However, I would argue that among many who have studied evolution, it has held such a position for many years. That said, the book helps remind people that natural selection may lay at the base of the modern family of theories about evolution, but this theory, itself, has many clades.

Profound, and surprisingly feminist!

Besides the fascinating stories of mate choice, plumage evolution and mating rituals this book is revolutionary in its conclusions. Reviving Darwin’s more subtle and overlooked theories of evolution, and building on them with exhaustive research today the author leads us in a deep dive into our human culture. This book holds the seeds to heal our culture .

Creative view of evolution.

There are many animal behaviorists who have serious problems with this book, but I loved it. Prum presents a creative view of how evolution has generated unique animal characteristics that appear beautiful to the human eye. His arguments have merit but are only one perspective on the topic, but Prum has written this book with care and addresses some of the other views in a fair way. I came away impressed that he might just be right. But whether he is or not, I learned a great deal and enjoyed the ride.

Evolution update

I love well written science books but often seem to have trouble finding one. This book was a gem! Entertaining, enlightening and educational. My wife heard me listening to the book and she was hooked. A caveat: we both are big Darwin fans and rate this up there with Quaamen's Song of the Dodo which we also love.

The basis for the next Paradigm shift

Aesthetic evolution is a major piece of the puzzle of evolution that has been fundamentally missing from the modern understanding of biology. May this book bring aethetics back to the understanding that it is fundamental to a functioning and happy human ecosystem.

This book has something to teach us all!

I’m no scientist but if you can stick with it, this book will give you powerful insight into how female preferences in mate choice (by mainly examining the most ornamental animals on our planet — birds, along with humans) have influenced the planet’s aesthetic evolution and beauty. I’m thoroughly convinced now that God is indeed a woman! Great book!