By Alex Levitan
In appreciation for the father of evolutionary psychology, the University hosted Darwin Day yesterday at the Axinn Library, attracting students and faculty alike to the scientific side of sexuality on Valentine’s Day.
The presentation began with a brief introduction by Dr. Russell Burke of the biology department, who spoke about the beginning of Darwin’s life and marriage. The audience was even treated to a guest speaker, Charles Darwin himself. With his beard falling off due to the powerful winds outside, Dr. Bret Bennington, an associate professor of geology, took the stage dressed as Darwin and began the recounting of Darwin’s marriage. Two students wearing shirts that stated “Young Charles” and “Emma” reading the love letters that had been exchanged between Darwin and his fiancée, brought Bennington’s stories to live by.
“We try and base everything that Darwin says on his actual writing,” Bennington said. “Everything he wrote is available online.”
After the dialogues of young Charles and Emma, Burke introduced the audience to Darwin’s sexual selection. Darwin’s first theory, natural selection, was not complete in that it did not explain some chief behavior.
According to Burke, the peacock’s tail is an important example. Studying the peacock’s tail and its role in finding a mate led to Darwin’s observation of the two types of sexual selection. Intrasexual selection is the act of male animals competing with one another, while intersexual selection is the act of the female animals choosing their desired mate.
Dr. John Teehan, associate professor of religion, then explained how these mating patterns could be compared to the behavior and patterns found in human beings and many other species in the animal kingdom.
“The mechanism of evolution is survival and copy of genes. The main step is reproducing,” Teehan said. Women seem to select their mate by intersexual selection, he added. Women are searching for the mate who has good genes, can provide for a safe environment, and has resources. Yet, none of these positive traits mean much without the man’s commitment. This is the most important trait.
Using an extensive survey experiment by David M. Buss, professor of evolutionary psychology, as an example, Teehan showed noticeable patterns in choices made by both men and women of different ages and cultures.
“So much of our behavior and our tendencies are biological–it’s coming from our evolutionary ancestry,” Bennington added. For example, women universally placed twice as much value on financial prospects as men. Also, every American woman who participated in the study put ambition as desirable or indispensable. Men, on the other hand, universally valued physical appeal higher than women.
Teehan, however, warned the audience about generalizing. “Just because this is what evolution tells us, [it] doesn’t mean its right,” Teehan said. According to him, this is just an insight into how the human species has survived throughout both recorded and unrecorded history.
The last portion of the event was dedicated to the observation of the role of grandmothers and other women past childbearing age in different societies. As a common role, the grandmother would be the one to watch and help raise the children. With experience and knowledge, the older women of the society would help the busy parents. This shows that grandmothers are critical to the survival of society, he said.
The University plans to host a three-day conference on Darwin in 2009. That will commemorate the 200th year anniversary of Darwin’s birth and the 150th year anniversary on the publication of the origin of species.
