Why is Sex Fun? by Jared Diamond

This post was originally published on a now-retired blog that I maintained from roughly 2005 to 2013. As a result, there may be some references that seem out of date. 

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Why do I get so frustrated with arguments based on the idea that the way animals act or the way our ancient ancestors acted dictates the way 21st century humans act?

Why do I get so frustrated with supposedly scientific documents that keep referring to the common ancestors of humans and apes as apes?

Why is it that I get so frustrated with pamphlets that try to use evolution to explain everything?

I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to answer these questions, but this book sure made me ask them all again. Biological evolution is not enough to explain everything in society, so now we have to deal with ideas like cultural and social evolution. It’s not just physical traits that are naturally selected, but customs and relationships as well. I suppose it all makes some level of sense, but when is someone going to recognize that the need to pass on our genes isn’t what drives most of modern society?

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This post appeared on Eric Lanke's blog, an association executive and author. You can follow him on Twitter @ericlanke or contact him at eric.lanke@gmail.com.