I am rather late to this book, having stumbled across it in reference, and several reviewers have already provided a very thorough synopsis of its theme and contents.
My take, however, is much broader than the fascinating debate over adaptive selection and beauty happens. To me this book spoke beautifully to the duality of the universe and everything in it. Birds and the debate over adaptive versus aesthetic selection are but two layers of context in which this far larger duality exists.
In this perspective, every coin has two sides. For every pro there is a con. For every this there is a that. In the Chinese worldview, for every yin there is a yang (male/female, fire/water, hot/cold, etc.).
But which side of the duality is true?
Eastern philosophers, who see the world inductively, would argue that it’s an and/but question. The truth is not one-dimensional. It is defined by the balance, or imbalance, as the case may be, between the two.
Western scientists, however, have a more deductive worldview and tend to see the world through the binary lens of either/or. Which is why, as Professor Prum so clearly explains, they tend to rally around what is most broadly accepted as the most likely of the two explanations, likely being a statistically probabilistic but far from certain choice which scientists call the null hypothesis or the null model.
Philosopher Karl Popper popularized the adage, “If it’s not falsifiable, it’s not scientific.” While that sounds reasonable enough, and it is the key to scientific efficiency, the result of that conclusion is exactly what Prum acknowledges. Most scientific research merely confirms the pre-existing bias of the null hypothesis. It often does little to uncover previously undiscovered truth.
And the reason is that where logic meets mathematics, which is where debates are normally settled, science is asymmetrical. It is not neutral. The game of proving anything scientifically is decidedly rigged.
Now, to be fair, it almost has to be, if we’re ever going to advance science at all. Which is why we are hard wired to find patterns in data even where none exist. And we’re wired to do it as quickly as possible.
The game of scientific discovery, in other words, is less a game of discovery than explanation. Which is also why the popular kids get the most likes on social media and large groups of people—take your pick of examples—can be so easily duped. Psychologists call it precognitive conclusion. We see what we expect to see. Or, more accurately, we see what we allow ourselves to see.
I think this is a truly fascinating book and I thought the author did a superb job of both laying out his argument and arguing on its behalf. I am sold! Although I have to admit that I am very naturally attracted to it being true as it makes the world a far more interesting place, so perhaps I, too, am concluding a bit precognitively.
It is a bit long-winded, and Prum sometimes sounds a bit judgmental about the people who have been so judgmental about him. But we always think that when we listen to someone supporting a contrarian perspective on any null hypothesis we support. It’s the nature of language, or the beast, or the bird, in this case.
Part of the reason for the length is that Professor Prum expands the narrative into both feminism and his call for a “post-human” view of art. While I was admittedly ready to wrap it up by then, I agree with his positions.
In fact, one aspect of his position I hold particularly dear. When we look at developments like #MeToo and Black Lives Matter, these issues are much bigger than misogyny and racism. These are issues of power and, specifically, how we define and allocate it. That is what has to change. More laws and protections aren’t going to make a difference. We must dismantle the current white patriarchal power structure and define power in a much more inclusive, just, and productive way. Prum is right; that will require that we put an end to the monotheism of adaptive selection. Whether we call it aesthetic selection or beauty happens, we must expand our worldview—politically, scientifically, and philosophically.
I am not a birder. But I thank Professor Prum and the many scientists he covers in this book for drawing me in to the world of birds in the same way that Carl Sagan used to draw us into the wonder of the cosmos. It’s a fascinating book and I can’t recommend it strongly enough.
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The Evolution of Beauty: How Darwin's Forgotten Theory of Mate Choice Shapes the Animal World - and Us
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Top reviews from other countries
Amazon Customer
Learned a lot about human sexual behavior through a comparison of birds mating rituals
Reviewed in Canada on May 19, 2021
Somayehsadat Ghasemi
Gave me a total new vision on evolution
Reviewed in Italy on July 17, 2023