Donald Symons

The Donald Symons theme is something that has captured the attention of many people over time. Whether due to its relevance in today's society, its impact on history or its influence on people's daily lives, Donald Symons has been a topic of constant debate. In this article, we will explore different aspects related to Donald Symons, from its origins to its evolution today. We will analyze its importance in different contexts and its impact on people's lives, offering a complete and detailed vision that allows us to understand its relevance in today's society.

Donald Symons
NationalityAmerican
OccupationAnthropologist
Known forOne of the founders of evolutionary psychology
Pioneering the study of human sexuality
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of California, Santa Barbara

Donald Symons (born 1942) is an American anthropologist best known as one of the founders of evolutionary psychology, and for pioneering the study of human sexuality from an evolutionary perspective. He is one of the most cited researchers in contemporary sex research. His work is referenced by scientists investigating an extremely diverse range of sexual phenomena. Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker describes Symons' The Evolution of Human Sexuality (1979) as a "groundbreaking book" and "a landmark in its synthesis of evolutionary biology, anthropology, physiology, psychology, fiction, and cultural analysis, written with a combination of rigor and wit. It was a model for all subsequent books that apply evolution to human affairs, particularly mine." Symons is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His most recent work, with Catherine Salmon, is Warrior Lovers, an evolutionary analysis of slash fiction.

References

  1. ^ Symons, Donald (1978). Play and Aggression: A Study of Rhesus Monkeys. New York: Columbia University Press. p. IV. ISBN 0-231-04334-1.
  2. ^ a b c Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam (2011). A Billion Wicked Thoughts: What The Internet Teaches Us About Sexual Relationships. London: Dutton Books. p. 20.
  3. ^ Pinker, Steven (2003). The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature. London: Penguin Books. p. 114. ISBN 0-140-27605-X.
  4. ^ "People - Department of Anthropology - UC Santa Barbara". www.anth.ucsb.edu.

Selected publications

  • Symons, D. (1978) Play and Aggression: A Study of Rhesus Monkeys. Columbia University Press
  • Symons, D. (1979) The Evolution of Human Sexuality. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-502907-0
  • Symons, D. (1987) "If we're all Darwinians, what's the fuss about?" in Crawford, Smith & Krebs, Sociobiology and Psychology, 121–146.
  • Symons, D. (1989) "A critique of Darwinian anthropology," in Ethology and Sociobiology, 10: 131–144.
  • Symons, D. (1990) "Adaptiveness and adaptation," in Ethology and Sociobiology, 11: 427–444.
  • Symons, D. (1992) "On the use and misuse of Darwinism in the study of human behavior" in Barkow, J., Cosmides, L. & Tooby, J. (eds) (1992) The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary psychology and the generation of culture (New York: Oxford University Press)
  • Symons, D. (1993) "The stuff that dreams aren't made of: Why wake-state and dream-state sensory experiences differ." Cognition, 47: 181–217.
  • Symons, D. (1995) "Beauty is in the adaptations of the beholder: The evolutionary psychology of human female sexual attractiveness" pp. 80–120 in Abramson, P.R. and Pinkerton, S.D. (eds.) Sexual Nature/Sexual Culture, The University of Chicago Press.
  • Salmon, C. and Symons, D. (2003) Warrior Lovers. Yale University Press.

External links

  • HBES Interview Series - Don Symons. Video on YouTube of Symons describing his career.