Evolutionary Psychology

Evolutionary psychology is a relatively new field of study that strives to determine and analyze human mating strategies and behavior. (Buss, 264). To understand evolutionary psychology, one must first understand Darwin’s theory of evolution – survival of the fittest. Darwin believed that all species on Earth adapt based on the qualities, the individuals with the best qualities for survival were chosen for reproduction and therefore their genes were passed on to the next generation. Darwin’s theory works as a sort of “weeding out” process until the population is filled with the most admirable individuals. Evolutionary psychology uses Darwin’s ideas and applies them to human sexual behavior and mating processes. According to evolutionary psychologists, we (as the human race) do not need heterosexual, monogamous marriages. There is a lot of supporting evidence that one must sort through before coming to an informed decision. I would certainly agree with the evolutionary psychologists in believing that we do not need heterosexual, monogamous marriages.

From the evolutionary standpoint, the only purpose of forming a union would be to produce offspring. Men must spread their seed to as many women as they can, so as to pass along their own genes so they will not be left in the dust. Women must hold true to some type of standard to ensure their offspring obtains the best qualities (strength, intelligence, etc.). Many would argue that men have the upper-hand from this evolutionary standpoint but without female consent men would not be able to project offspring, “Female preferences, in short, determine many of the ground rules for male contests” (Buss, 269). This means that there is some deliberation on both parts before consenting to the reproduction of children.

Robert Wright goes in to adamant explanation as to why humans are not meant to be monogamous, “The good news is that human beings are designed to fall in love. The bad news is that they aren’t designed to stay there” (Wright 280). Wright goes on to explain that humans were not made to be monogamous; our hearts want to be monogamous because we believe that will bring us true happiness, but our bodies are biologically and evolutionarily pre-disposed to be promiscuous – and even to some extent polygamous.

I feel that we as a society need marriage because it has been one of the longest standing traditions that I can think of. Marriage is such an institution; especially here in the United States that I feel a lot of us would be doomed without it. But, in saying that, I do not believe that heterosexual, monogamous marriage is what we NEED. We live in a society with ever-changing values and to limit our tolerance to just heterosexual and monogamous marriages would be ignorant. We no longer need marriage as a form of reproduction, we are very much overpopulated. I feel that we need marriage to stay in our society but not to shape us in to cookie-cutter relationships. As long as we do not let the human population die off, which is highly unlikely according to evolutionary psychologists, we should try to cherish the tradition of marriage for what it truly is, without worrying about reproduction and offspring – that will take care of itself.