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The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature

The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature

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  • Create Date：2021-06-17 09:53:30
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Matt Ridley
  • ISBN：0060556579
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Summary

Referring to Lewis Carroll's Red Queen from Through the Looking-Glass， a character who has to keep running to stay in the same place， Matt Ridley demonstrates why sex is humanity's best strategy for outwitting its constantly mutating internal predators。 The Red Queen answers dozens of other riddles of human nature and culture -- including why men propose marriage， the method behind our maddening notions of beauty， and the disquieting fact that a woman is more likely to conceive a child by an adulterous lover than by her husband。 Brilliantly written， The Red Queen offers an extraordinary new way of interpreting the human condition and how it has evolved。

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Reviews

Henry ，

- In animals， we are bound to attract to more healthy mate by design （thus， we're genetically superficial）- Female apes have multiple sex partners to increase the likelihood of pregnancy。 In addition， it will ensure their kids gets to live since competitor male apes kills young apes that aren't related to the male apes - Human's excessive intelligence - Author argues - is probably more for sexual selection。 That female in addition to attracted to more healthy male， they're also attracted to more - In animals， we are bound to attract to more healthy mate by design （thus， we're genetically superficial）- Female apes have multiple sex partners to increase the likelihood of pregnancy。 In addition， it will ensure their kids gets to live since competitor male apes kills young apes that aren't related to the male apes - Human's excessive intelligence - Author argues - is probably more for sexual selection。 That female in addition to attracted to more healthy male， they're also attracted to more intelligent male- Neocortex， the latest development of the human brain， is likely contributing to the more intelligence of human 。。。more

Dide ，

This is one of those books that turns biology， history and social sciences into some form of evolution scifi novel。 Well written， entertaining and provides responses （not necessarily answers） to a lot of whys i。e。Why polygamyWhy homosexualityWhy are some seemingly more attractive than othersWhy why why。。。。Chose to go with the audible version and the narrator did an excellent job despite my weakness to feel drowsy with audio books。

Alon ，

The first half of this book is so meh。 Just skip straight to page 167。

Yanal ，

Parasites would kill us all if we didn't have sex。 Through sexual reproduction allows for polymorphism which allows us to be more resilient against parasites。 Evolutionary pressures shape the sex of offspring。 If you look healthy you become more attractive to potential mates。 We are intelligent because intelligence is sexy and a key driver to evolution。 Parasites would kill us all if we didn't have sex。 Through sexual reproduction allows for polymorphism which allows us to be more resilient against parasites。 Evolutionary pressures shape the sex of offspring。 If you look healthy you become more attractive to potential mates。 We are intelligent because intelligence is sexy and a key driver to evolution。 。。。more

Lady Mayfair ，

Yawn。。。 This book is highly speculative， pages of pages of assumptions with no means to an end。 Don't expect to find too much information on the Female side of sexual evolution， Ridley only mentions the female side to make a point about the male， some paragraphs make one believe the author has never interacted with a woman and is therefore just talking out of his ass to impress the Oxbridge masses。 He quantifies all （sexual/reproductive） matters in the animal kingdom as being not even similar， b Yawn。。。 This book is highly speculative， pages of pages of assumptions with no means to an end。 Don't expect to find too much information on the Female side of sexual evolution， Ridley only mentions the female side to make a point about the male， some paragraphs make one believe the author has never interacted with a woman and is therefore just talking out of his ass to impress the Oxbridge masses。 He quantifies all （sexual/reproductive） matters in the animal kingdom as being not even similar， but Exactly the same in the human world which is preposterous to say the least because: in the world of Ridley， whilst the so-called Red Queen perhaps does dictate that one chose a Tall Man for the sake of the future offspring， if one simply would not be interested in propagating the species what would happen to the uptight Red Queen then？Yes， it is the prime directive of any species of the animal kingdom to breed to save the species， but here is where Humans are different: we can choose to go against our prime directive。 We can choose to drown the Red Queen。 Or we can choose to not pretend that she exists， to begin with。 。。。more

Lukáš Zorád ，

Je to také intelektuálne cvičenie plne zaujímavých teórií a pokusov o vysvetlenie ľudskej prirodzenosti a sexuality， z ktorého ostávam rovnako， ak nie ešte viac zmätený， ako pred čítaním knihy。 Autor má obrovský prehľad， všetko je dobre zazdrojovane， aj keď pri niektorých častiach je ťažké ubrániť sa dojmu， že to čo píše je pravda （napr。 tisíce konkubin v haremoch panovníkov v rôznych despotickych civilizaciach。。。。no neviem， nechce sa mi pátrať）。 Asi najpodstatnejším poznatkom knihz je， že dosia Je to také intelektuálne cvičenie plne zaujímavých teórií a pokusov o vysvetlenie ľudskej prirodzenosti a sexuality， z ktorého ostávam rovnako， ak nie ešte viac zmätený， ako pred čítaním knihy。 Autor má obrovský prehľad， všetko je dobre zazdrojovane， aj keď pri niektorých častiach je ťažké ubrániť sa dojmu， že to čo píše je pravda （napr。 tisíce konkubin v haremoch panovníkov v rôznych despotickych civilizaciach。。。。no neviem， nechce sa mi pátrať）。 Asi najpodstatnejším poznatkom knihz je， že dosiaľ každá z teórií o ľudskej prirodzenosti od Freuda až po sociobiologiu E。O。Wilsona， má svoje vážne nedostatky a chyby a preto sme v tejto oblasti iba v začiatkoch chápania。 。。。more

Jack Considine ，

Since reading The Red Queen ， I haven't been able to escape the paradigm; it's everywhere。 I also feel much a greater appreciation and interest towards biology。 It's funny and witty and well-architected。 It tracks the natural evolution of our theories on。。。 evolution。 It never purports definitive answers to open questions， nor does it oversell itself。The last chunk may as well be a separate book。 Though I mostly accept Ridley's points， his seeping political agenda feels personal， a stark depart Since reading The Red Queen ， I haven't been able to escape the paradigm; it's everywhere。 I also feel much a greater appreciation and interest towards biology。 It's funny and witty and well-architected。 It tracks the natural evolution of our theories on。。。 evolution。 It never purports definitive answers to open questions， nor does it oversell itself。The last chunk may as well be a separate book。 Though I mostly accept Ridley's points， his seeping political agenda feels personal， a stark departure from the sound science-centrism that characterizes The Red Queen。 。。。more

Angel Chang ，

This book threw out various different theories of why we， humans became the way we are now。 By compiling various different studies Ridley tries to answer questions such as "What pushed us to evolve into a society where monogamy is practiced yet polygamous at the same time？"， or "How we differ from other animals yet in other ways the same。"。 Even the title "The Red Queen" is just a theory， as biology continues evolving our theories do， too。 This book was written quite some time ago， yet it's stil This book threw out various different theories of why we， humans became the way we are now。 By compiling various different studies Ridley tries to answer questions such as "What pushed us to evolve into a society where monogamy is practiced yet polygamous at the same time？"， or "How we differ from other animals yet in other ways the same。"。 Even the title "The Red Queen" is just a theory， as biology continues evolving our theories do， too。 This book was written quite some time ago， yet it's still relevant if one wants to get a glimpse of evolutionary history。 There are some parts where I disagree。 The author doesn't agree with the conventional view on gender equality， and he provides a brief argument as to why。 I'm no biologist， so I can't provide any concrete study or proof as to why his argument is wrong。 But like I said this book was published before emphasis was put on equality of any kind。 So one can read it and take what he says with a grain of salt when you get to parts that are a bit out of date。 。。。more

Brent Gardner ，

This is paradigm-shifting material。

Stephanie ，

This book was written in 1994。

Alvis Krasevskis ，

Exceptional。

Hw ，

Bold， intellectually honest， intriguing。This book is an antidote to those new age anti-scientific social "scientists"。（view spoiler）[ They oft don't have the scientific way of obtaining truth， but a rather predetermined goal in mind what the society should be like。 （hide spoiler）] Bold， intellectually honest， intriguing。This book is an antidote to those new age anti-scientific social "scientists"。（view spoiler）[ They oft don't have the scientific way of obtaining truth， but a rather predetermined goal in mind what the society should be like。 （hide spoiler）] 。。。more

Mamluk Qayser ，

There are two types of evolutionist books I have encountered， moderate and evangelistic。 As the name suggests， evangelistic evolutionist books share the same impassionaied and rigour you can encounter in any religious sermon。 This book belongs to this type。 I never have any difficulties in reading books that ran against my thoughts， after all， I personally believe that science and religion are not mutually exclusive， but complementary interpretation of reality， so I managed to finish this book a There are two types of evolutionist books I have encountered， moderate and evangelistic。 As the name suggests， evangelistic evolutionist books share the same impassionaied and rigour you can encounter in any religious sermon。 This book belongs to this type。 I never have any difficulties in reading books that ran against my thoughts， after all， I personally believe that science and religion are not mutually exclusive， but complementary interpretation of reality， so I managed to finish this book anyway。 The author believed that we are mere slaves to our genes; it was the “selfish” nature of the genes that commands to be transmitted at any cost that propels and shape who we are today。 Personally speaking， the author believing that molecules emerged from the primordial soup billions of years ago and suddenly decided to “cooperate” with each other forming more complex cells and organisms is not that dissimilar from the religious version story of creation。 Both stories of the primordial soup and the world’s created in 7 days require certain degree of faith to accept them。As organisms are merely subjects to their gene， the author found no contradiction in applying the findings in animal kingdom to the pillars we usually thought unique to humankind， such as marriage， love and beauty。 After all， for the author， we are merely apes。 As the final end for an organism is to transmit its genes， the author believed that the sexual patterns in humankind follows this general command。 The author conceded that we stood somewhere in between the strict monogamy of an albatross and the promiscuity of bonobos， so we adopted a mixed strategy in achieving maximum dissemination of our seeds。 As a mammal with hapless young， it is imperative for both mothers and fathers to supply input and care to the rearing of the children。 But this doesn’t stop the males of many animals， humans included， to engage in affairs that helped to further disseminate his genes。 You are mistaken to think that the females are all faithful。 The females also under the spell of this general command， so they also engaged regularly in infidelity。 They are doing this to kill two birds with one stones; to obtain a stable and long-term care from her “official” partner， while simultaneously obtaining the genes for her children from the stud。 While himself engaged in infidelity， the male refused to be burdened with caring an offspring which is not his， which sprouted the cuckoldry paranoia seen in animals and humans。 But then， how can the males seduce and the females be seduced？ We can observed a peculiarity among the males animals to be more gaudy and flamboyant compared to its female counterparts？ The peacock with its multicolour tail-feather risked to be exposed to discerning predators， and many animals battled to near-death in trying to win a female。 Biologists believed that this pattern of behaviour sends a kind of signal to the female， that despite the handicaps carried by the male， the male is healthy and possessed the ingenuity to survive its handicap。 So， its a shorthand to display a message that he possessed both the vitality and craftiness to survive。 。。。more

Bee ，

I am so lucky to have read this book back in my younger days。 This （and a few other books） stopped me from going into the swamp of social sciences and kept my head clear。 30 years on， the book is probably in need of some update on the research front but I believe it is still a must-read for anyone with half a brain。

Louise ，

Bit too heavy for me

Buck ，

This book was alright， somewhat interesting。 It was moving slow and I just wasn't that into it。 When my next book became available from the library， I borrowed it and put this one aside。 This book was alright， somewhat interesting。 It was moving slow and I just wasn't that into it。 When my next book became available from the library， I borrowed it and put this one aside。 。。。more

betty ，

eh it wasn’t that good

Richard Kravitz ，

I was reading a blog one day about the #MeToo movement and this book was recommended。 The first 5 chapters were pretty boring， mostly genetics and molecular biology， and I almost didn't finish the book。The next 4 chapters were better， more about people， but not great。The last chapter was pretty boring also。This book was pretty scientific， more so than I expected and not enough of it was about human interaction。I will probably donate the book and not retain it for my bookshelves at home。 I was reading a blog one day about the #MeToo movement and this book was recommended。 The first 5 chapters were pretty boring， mostly genetics and molecular biology， and I almost didn't finish the book。The next 4 chapters were better， more about people， but not great。The last chapter was pretty boring also。This book was pretty scientific， more so than I expected and not enough of it was about human interaction。I will probably donate the book and not retain it for my bookshelves at home。 。。。more

Katie ，

A fascinating （though dense） read。 I will keep it as an outdated reference to prompt conversation！

Ikai Lan ，

This book was written in 1993， and some of the ideas are getting a bit long in the tooth。 In the epilogue， the author hedges against this criticism by saying both “half the ideas in this book are probably wrong” and “political correctness （will dispute the ideas in the book a bout mental difference between men and women”）。 It’s like when people say， “with all due respect” right before they’re about to disrespect you。 Almost 30 years later， we know that it’s not political correctness， we know the This book was written in 1993， and some of the ideas are getting a bit long in the tooth。 In the epilogue， the author hedges against this criticism by saying both “half the ideas in this book are probably wrong” and “political correctness （will dispute the ideas in the book a bout mental difference between men and women”）。 It’s like when people say， “with all due respect” right before they’re about to disrespect you。 Almost 30 years later， we know that it’s not political correctness， we know the claims are wrong: “gays act more feminine” are just manifestations of the author’s bias and based on anecdote， and that “men are better at reading maps” is in sharp contrast with claims in the same book that “pleistocene era men and women did not work in factories therefore did not evolve to be better or worse at industrial work” （there were also no maps 300，000 years ago 。。。）。Putting that aside， this is still a 3 star book。 Two reasons。 For all the claims in this book backed by actual scientific method， there are a scattering of random anecdotes and observations。 For instance: “I find it hard to believe that 93% of drunk drivers are men can be attributed to society alone” is not science， it’s just a claim with no evidence。 The second reason is that much of the first 60% of the book is just a restatement of Dawkins’ seminal work in The Selfish Gene， a book published in 1976 that manages to age much more gracefully。 Instead of reading this book， I recommend reading a combination of The Selfish Gene and Jared Diamond’s The Third Chimpanzee instead。 。。。more

Yanick Punter ，

I have decided it is better to not read very popular （pop-）science since the ideas they have are out there， spread in the wild。 The public， intellectuals and scientists know them and thus you'll find them， either in books， essays， and offline or online discussions。 This is one of those books。 I have decided it is better to not read very popular （pop-）science since the ideas they have are out there， spread in the wild。 The public， intellectuals and scientists know them and thus you'll find them， either in books， essays， and offline or online discussions。 This is one of those books。 。。。more

Jey Kalimuthu ，

A book that throws every imaginable idea about sex on you。 Ideas that have been asked by scientists for the last century。 It's rather wordy， but the ideas alone are worth thinking about。 A book that throws every imaginable idea about sex on you。 Ideas that have been asked by scientists for the last century。 It's rather wordy， but the ideas alone are worth thinking about。 。。。more

Paul ，

While I appreciate that Ridley has the courage to recognize， "half of the ideas in this book are probably wrong，" I still had to go with five stars because using game theory， evolution， and comparative biology to understand human sexual behavior results in a mind-opening cornucopia of thought-provoking theories。 While I appreciate that Ridley has the courage to recognize， "half of the ideas in this book are probably wrong，" I still had to go with five stars because using game theory， evolution， and comparative biology to understand human sexual behavior results in a mind-opening cornucopia of thought-provoking theories。 。。。more

Indrė Dalgėdienė ，

šiandien yra 2021-03-03。kai pradėjau skaityti šią knygą， pirma paskata tai daryti buvo kita， "Sex at Dawn: How We Mate， Why We Stray， and What It Means for Modern Relationships"， knyga。 stipriai jaučiau， kad reikia platesnio pagrindo。kai šią knygą baigiau skaityti， Lietuvoje užvirė diskusija apie Stambulo konvencijos ratifikavimą。 dabar man ypač gerai suprantama， kodėl kyla tiek diskusijų （įkaitusių iki geležies raudonumo）。visgi， goodreads aplinkoje stengiuosi apie knygą pasakyti tai， ką ji man šiandien yra 2021-03-03。kai pradėjau skaityti šią knygą， pirma paskata tai daryti buvo kita， "Sex at Dawn: How We Mate， Why We Stray， and What It Means for Modern Relationships"， knyga。 stipriai jaučiau， kad reikia platesnio pagrindo。kai šią knygą baigiau skaityti， Lietuvoje užvirė diskusija apie Stambulo konvencijos ratifikavimą。 dabar man ypač gerai suprantama， kodėl kyla tiek diskusijų （įkaitusių iki geležies raudonumo）。visgi， goodreads aplinkoje stengiuosi apie knygą pasakyti tai， ką ji man asmeniškai davė。 šios knygos žinutė man namo: 1） gyvenu vyrų pasaulyje; 2） sąmoningai tai gana sunku suvokti。 kodėl tokios išvados？ o gi todėl， kad skaitant knygos dalis， kuriose buvo aprašoma vyrų prigimtis， jaučiausi patogiai （！）， kilo tik vienas kitas klausimas。 bet tuo pačiu kirbėjo viduje nerimas， kodėl yra taks patogumo jausmas。 ir skaitant dalis apie moterų prigimtį， beveik viską skaičiau po du kartus ir vis klausiau， kodėl， kodėl viskas taip neįprasta？ užspausta？ neišjausta？ neišdiskutuota？lieku po šios knygos su daug klaustukų。 panašu， kad ši tema nesibaigs taip greitai。p。s。: yra vienas knygos skyrius， kur autorius "talžo" genetikos teorija ir terminais。 nesijaudinkit dėl to， man irgi buvo sunku。 kodėl tai turėtų jus paguosti？ :） nes mano išsilavinimas leido tą skyrių skaityti kaip profesijos atstovei， bet vis viena buvau "talžoma" :D 。。。more

Karl Nordstrom ，

A fascinating book on the evolution of sexuality， starting at the gene level， which is actually very interesting。 The book also looks at neighboring species， such as chimpanzees and other apes。 And， it has some interesting analysis of human mating strategies。 I found that the further the book went， the trickier it was to come to clear conclusions。 Humans are complex。All that said， this is a very interesting book and well worth your time。 It is not full of made-up "just so" stories。 It appears to A fascinating book on the evolution of sexuality， starting at the gene level， which is actually very interesting。 The book also looks at neighboring species， such as chimpanzees and other apes。 And， it has some interesting analysis of human mating strategies。 I found that the further the book went， the trickier it was to come to clear conclusions。 Humans are complex。All that said， this is a very interesting book and well worth your time。 It is not full of made-up "just so" stories。 It appears to be well grounded。 。。。more

Terry ，

Even on his worst day， Matt Ridley is worthwhile， but the Red Queen is not his best work。 （Origins of Virtue is！） In the Red Queen， I wish he didn't take such a long time making and remaking the same arguments。 In this sense， this book reads more like Guns Germs and Steel than the concise and clear brilliance we have come to expect from Matt Ridley。 Even on his worst day， Matt Ridley is worthwhile， but the Red Queen is not his best work。 （Origins of Virtue is！） In the Red Queen， I wish he didn't take such a long time making and remaking the same arguments。 In this sense， this book reads more like Guns Germs and Steel than the concise and clear brilliance we have come to expect from Matt Ridley。 。。。more

Katie Taylor ，

Meh

Connor Charchuk ，

An earnest， charitable， and deeply humble attempt to lay the groundwork of the evolution of sexual and psychological patterns in humans。 The scientific rigour combined with the accessible prose， perfectly detailed examples， and immaculate historically proper flow from one concept to the next was impressive。 The evolutionary theory is top notch。 The limitations and cautions on interpretation are appropriately scattered throughout。 It is difficult to understand how we， as a society， have strayed s An earnest， charitable， and deeply humble attempt to lay the groundwork of the evolution of sexual and psychological patterns in humans。 The scientific rigour combined with the accessible prose， perfectly detailed examples， and immaculate historically proper flow from one concept to the next was impressive。 The evolutionary theory is top notch。 The limitations and cautions on interpretation are appropriately scattered throughout。 It is difficult to understand how we， as a society， have strayed so far afield from the knowledge contained written in this book nearly 30 years ago， but alas， much of it would likely be considered taboo knowledge in our mainstream institutions。 Nevertheless， this should be assigned reading for anyone wishing to better understand their nature and their position in the animal kingdom as a member of our beautiful and confusing species。 。。。more

Dmitri Rabin ，

Great general interest book for those wanting to learn more about evolutionary biology。 Book is more wide-ranging but not as well organized as E。O。 Wilson’s “Social Conquest of Earth”。 The core concepts explored are the role of sexual selection （rather than natural selection） in evolution theory。 This is laid out with examples from across the animal kingdom。 The simplest thesis for humans would be: for the past million years， the greatest force shaping human evolution has been competition with o Great general interest book for those wanting to learn more about evolutionary biology。 Book is more wide-ranging but not as well organized as E。O。 Wilson’s “Social Conquest of Earth”。 The core concepts explored are the role of sexual selection （rather than natural selection） in evolution theory。 This is laid out with examples from across the animal kingdom。 The simplest thesis for humans would be: for the past million years， the greatest force shaping human evolution has been competition with other humans， rather than the environment。 There is something slightly nihilistic certain arguments: humans （and many animals） prefer certain qualities in mates simply because those qualities will make their progeny be attractive to their mates， and so on circuitously。 。。。more

Marco ，

I nearly couldn't make it through the biology part， but I'm glad I did。 The last third of the book was much better。I didn't find much of the info here new， so perhaps that's why it didn't rock my world as it seems to have rocked many people's here。 I nearly couldn't make it through the biology part， but I'm glad I did。 The last third of the book was much better。I didn't find much of the info here new， so perhaps that's why it didn't rock my world as it seems to have rocked many people's here。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0