Ant and the Peacock: Altruism and Sexual Selection from Darwin to Today

Title: Ant and the Peacock: Altruism and Sexual Selection from Darwin to Today
Author: Helena Cronin
G: 1704148
ISBN: 9780521329378
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 1992
Binding: Hardcover
Language: English
Number of Pages: 504
Section: Science | Life Sciences | Evolution
Condition Note: Clean, unmarked copy with some edge wear. Good binding. Dust jacket included if issued with one. We ship in recyclable American-made mailers. 100% money-back guarantee on all orders.
Publisher Description: The "ant" and the "peacock" stand for two puzzles in Darwinism--altruism and sexual selection. How can natural selection favor those, such as the worker ant, that renounce tooth and claw in favor of the public-spirited ways of the commune? And how can "peacocks"--flamboyant, ornamental and apparently useless--be tolerated by the grimly economical Darwinian reaper? Helena Cronin has a deep understanding of today's answers to these riddles and their roots in the nineteenth century; the analysis is new and exciting and the explanations lucid and compelling.