Race, Monogamy, and Other Lies They Told You : Busting Myths about Human Nature

There are three major myths of human nature: humans are divided into biological races; humans are naturally aggressive; men and women are truly different in behavior, desires, and wiring. In an engaging and wide-ranging narrative Agustín Fuentes counters these pervasive and pernicious myths about human behavior. Tackling misconceptions about what race, aggression, and sex really mean for humans, Fuentes incorporates an accessible understanding of culture, genetics, and evolution requiring us to dispose of notions of "nature or nurture." Presenting scientific evidence from diverse fields, including anthropology, biology, and psychology, Fuentes devises a myth-busting toolkit to dismantle persistent fallacies about the validity of biological races, the innateness of aggression and violence, and the nature of monogamy and differences between the sexes. A final chapter plus an appendix provide a set of take-home points on how readers can myth-bust on their own. Accessible, compelling, and original, this book is a rich and nuanced account of how nature, culture, experience, and choice interact to influence human behavior. "There are three major myths of human nature: humans are divided into biological races; humans are naturally aggressive; men and women are truly different in behavior, desires and wiring. In an engaging and wide-ranging narrative AgustÍn Fuentes counters these pervasive and pernicious myths about human behavior. Tackling misconceptions about what race, aggression, and sex really mean for humans Fuentes incorporates an accessible understanding of culture, genetics, and evolution requiring us to dispose of notions of "nature or nurture". Presenting scientific evidence from diverse fields, including anthropology, biology, and psychology, Fuentes devises a myth-busting toolkit to dismantle persistent fallacies about the validity of biological races, the innateness of aggression and violence, and the nature of monogamy and differences between the sexes. A final chapter provides a set of take-home points and the appendix is quick primer on how readers can myth-bust on their own. Accessible, compelling, and original, this book reveals a rich and nuanced portrayal how nature, culture, experience, and choice interact to influence human behavior"-- Publisher description

There are three major myths of human nature: humans are divided into biological races; humans are naturally aggressive; men and women are truly different in behavior, desires, and wiring.
In an engaging and wide-ranging narrative Agustín Fuentes counters these pervasive and pernicious myths about human behavior. Tackling misconceptions about what race, aggression, and sex really mean for humans, Fuentes incorporates an accessible understanding of culture, genetics, and evolution requiring us to dispose of notions of nature or nurture. Presenting scientific evidence from diverse fields, including anthropology, biology, and psychology, Fuentes devises a myth-busting toolkit to dismantle persistent fallacies about the validity of biological races, the innateness of aggression and violence, and the nature of monogamy and differences between the sexes. A final chapter plus an appendix provide a set of take-home points on how readers can myth-bust on their own. Accessible, compelling, and original, this book is a rich and nuanced account of how nature, culture, experience, and choice interact to influence human behavior.

There are three major myths of human nature: humans are divided into biological races; humans are naturally aggressive; men and women are truly different in behavior, desires, and wiring. In an engaging and wide-ranging narrative Agustin Fuentes counters these pervasive and pernicious myths about human behavior. Tackling misconceptions about what race, aggression, and sex really mean for humans, Fuentes incorporates an accessible understanding of culture, genetics, and evolution requiring us to dispose of notions of "nature or nurture." Presenting scientific evidence from diverse fields, including anthropology, biology, and psychology, Fuentes devises a myth-busting toolkit to dismantle persistent fallacies about the validity of biological races, the innateness of aggression and violence, and the nature of monogamy and differences between the sexes. A final chapter plus an appendix provide a set of take-home points on how readers can myth-bust on their own. Accessible, compelling, and original, this book is a rich and nuanced account of how nature, culture, experience, and choice interact to influence human behavior. Content: Cover Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents List of Illustrations Preface Acknowledgments Part 1. Myth-Busting Tool Kit 1. Myths about Human Nature are Powerful--and Misleading 2. Culture--Problems with what we Believe about Being Human 3. Evolution Is Important--but may not be what we Think Part 2. Busting Three Myths about Being Human Prelude: Human?' Nature + Nurture 4. The Myth of Race 5. Myths about Aggression 6. Myths about Sex 7. Beyond the Myths: Now what? Appendix: Getting the Information Yourself Notes Bibliography Index. Tackling misconceptions about what race, aggression, and sex really mean for humans, this book incorporates an accessible understanding of culture, genetics, and evolution, requiring us to dispose of notions of nature or nurture. It also includes scientific evidence from diverse fields including anthropology, biology, and psychology. Tackling misconceptions about what race, aggression, and sex really mean for humans, this title incorporates an understanding of culture, genetics, and evolution requiring us to dispose of notions of nature or nurture. It presents scientific evidence from diverse fields, including anthropology, biology, and psychology. Uses scientific evidence from diverse fields to counter three pervasive myths about human behavior--that people are divided into biological races, humans are naturally aggressive, and men and women drastically differ in behavior