Science of Love

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Overview

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 ...

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More About This Book

Overview

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 love—passion, commitment, intimacy, hugging, kissing, monogamy, cheating, and more—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
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781118397657
  • Publisher: Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated
  • Publication date: 11/20/2012
  • Edition description: First Edition
  • Edition number: 1
  • Pages: 320
  • Sales rank: 434,797
  • Product dimensions: 5.80 (w) x 8.60 (h) x 1.20 (d)

Meet the Author

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.

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Table of Contents

1 Now We Are One 1

2 Truly, Madly, Deeply 31

3 The Monogamous Brain 60

4 Through a Glass Darkly 84

5 Saving Face 114

6 By Kith or by Kin 133

7 A Cheat by Any Other Name 162

8 Sleeping with the Devil 193

9 Love and Betrayal Online 215

10 Evolution?s Dilemma 236

Acknowledgements 265

Bibliography 266

Index 295

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