Topic summary
Sexual selection in human evolution
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Sexual selection in humans.
Opposing arguments
The role of sexual selection in human evolution has been considered controversial from the moment of publication of Darwin's book on sexual selection (1871). Among his vocal critics were some of Darwin's supporters, such as Alfred Wallace, a believer in spiritualism and a non-material origin of the human mind, who argued that animals and birds do not choose mates based on sexual selection, and that the artistic faculties in humans belong to their spiritual nature and therefore cannot be connected to natural selection, which only affects the animal nature. Darwin was accused of looking to the evolution of early human ancestors through the moral codes of the 19th century Victorian society.