Race, Monogamy, and Other Lies They Told You, Second Edition: Busting Myths about Human Nature

Race, Monogamy, and Other Lies They Told You, Second Edition: Busting Myths about Human Nature

by Agustín Fuentes
Race, Monogamy, and Other Lies They Told You, Second Edition: Busting Myths about Human Nature

Race, Monogamy, and Other Lies They Told You, Second Edition: Busting Myths about Human Nature

by Agustín Fuentes

Paperback(Second Edition)

$29.95 
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Overview

A compelling takedown of prevailing myths about human behavior, updated and expanded to meet the current moment.   
 
There are three major myths of human nature: humans are divided into biological races; humans are naturally aggressive; and men and women are wholly different in behavior, desires, and wiring. Race, Monogamy, and Other Lies They Told You counters these pervasive and pernicious myths about human behavior. Agustín Fuentes tackles misconceptions about what race, aggression, and sex really mean for humans, and incorporates an accessible understanding of culture, genetics, and evolution that requires us to dispose of notions of "nature or nurture."
 
Presenting scientific evidence from diverse fields, including anthropology, biology, and psychology, Fuentes devises a myth-busting toolkit to dismantle persistent fallacies about the validity of biological races, the innateness of aggression and violence, and the nature of monogamy, sex, and gender. This revised and expanded edition provides up-to-date references, data, and analyses, and addresses new topics, including the popularity of home DNA testing kits and the lies behind ‘"incel" culture; the resurgence of racist, nativist thinking and the internet's influence in promoting bad science; and a broader understanding of the diversity of sex and gender.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780520379602
Publisher: University of California Press
Publication date: 05/10/2022
Edition description: Second Edition
Pages: 350
Sales rank: 446,770
Product dimensions: 5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Agustín Fuentes is Professor of Anthropology at Princeton University. His research focuses on the entanglement of biological systems with the social and cultural lives of humans, examining health, behavior, and diversity in our ancestors, ourselves, and a few other animals with whom humanity shares close relations.
 

Table of Contents

List of Figures vii

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xv

Part 1 Myth-Busting Tool Kit

1 Myths about Human Nature Are Powerful-and Misleading 3

2 Culture: Problems with What We Believe about Being Human 28

3 Evolution Matters 44

4 Genetics Is Not What Most People Think 59

Part 2 Busting Three Myths about Being Human

Prelude • Human ≠ Nature + Nurture 77

5 The Myth of Race 82

6 Myths about Aggression 135

7 Myths about Sex 180

8 Beyond the Myths: Now What? 236

9 Bust Myths and Counter Fake News for Yourself 247

Notes 255

Bibliography 299

Index 323

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