Book description
A scientific exploration of some of humanity's most puzzling
questions: What is love? Why do we fall in (and out) of love? And why
would we have evolved to feel something so weird, with so many downsides?
Whether you live for Valentine's Day or are the type to forget your
wedding anniversary, love is, quite simply, part of being human. In
The Science of Love, renowned evolutionary anthropologist
Robin Dunbar uses the latest science to explore every aspect of human
love. Why do we kiss? What evolutionary benefit could there be to
feeling like you would die for your mate? If love exists to encourage
child-bearing and child-rearing, why do we love until death do us part
(and beyond)? Is parental love anything like romantic love? Dunbar
explores everything science has discovered about romance, passion,
sex, and commitment, answering these questions and more.
- Draws on the latest scientific research to examine the many
aspects of loveÂ-passion, commitment, intimacy, hugging, kissing,
monogamy, cheating, and moreÂ-and explain why we have evolved to
behave as we do
- Filled with fascinating insights into specific human behaviors
and experiences, from the European air kiss on both cheeks to the
phenomenon of love at first sight
- Written by Robin Dunbar, a prominent anthropologist and
evolutionary psychologist whose work have been featured in Malcolm
Gladwell's The Tipping Point and many other books
ROBIN DUNBAR is currently Professor of Evolutionary
Anthropology at Oxford University and a Fellow of Magdalen College.
His principal research interest is the evolution of sociality. He was
elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 1998. His books include
The Trouble with Science, "an eloquent riposte to the
anti-science lobby" (Sunday Times), and Grooming,
Gossip, and the Evolution of Language. The Human Story
was described as "fizzing with recent research and new
theories" in the Sunday Times and "punchy and
provocative" by the New Scientist. How Many Friends
Does One Person Need?: Dunbar's Number and Other Evolutionary
Quirks was published in 2010.
