Anthropology 160 - The Human Life Course
Purpose of the Course and Material to be Covered
The purpose of the course is to introduce students
to a scientific way of understanding the basic problems that human beings face
and how they solve those problems. That
approach to understanding is called Human
Evolutionary Ecology. The class is
entitled, “The Human Life Course” because we deal with every phase of life from
the initial conception of the fetus through child development to adolescence,
adulthood, old age and death.
What problems are we talking about? Before a baby is conceived, two individuals
must engage in sexual intercourse. This
raises a large number of problems for people to solve? How can I find the best possible
partner? How can I make myself the most
attractive so as to get the best possible partner? How long should I wait before engaging in sexual activity? How choosy should I be? What are the most important characteristics
in a mate? Should I remain faithful to
one partner or should I seek more than one partner? How much can I trust my partner?
Then when it comes to having children, another set
of problems must be solved. How long
should I wait before having my first child?
Should I be married first? Should I finish my education first? If I get pregant or get someone pregnant before I am ready to
have a child, should I terminate the pregnancy? How far apart should I space the births of my children? How many children should I have? How much time should I spend with the child
and how much money do I need to raise it?
Of course, marriage and family require
resources. This raises another set of
problems. How can I make the most
money? How long should I invest in education and when should I start working? How important is money as a criterion for
mate choice? What can I do to affect
the economic well-being of my chidren when they are adults?
All of these problems are solved in a competitive playing field. There are competitors for mates and for jobs. But there are also cooperative relationships and friendships. Each of which pose new problems and possibilities? How can I outcompete my competitors? When and with whom should I cooperate? Who can I trust?
These problems should all be very familiar to you
and of direct relevance to your life.
These are the things people care most about. They are the main themes in novels, movies, and television? They are also the main themes of the class.
What may be less obvious to you is that these are very old problems. They have been faced time and again, and not only by people in our society, but by people in very different cultures and in fact, by most other organisms. Here are some examples:
1.
The
dungfly and finding mates – The male problem: Finding females and how long to
mate with each one.
2.
Sex
Changing Fish: To be a male or a female, that is the question
3.
Birth
spacing among Bushmen: A female
problem: How long to nurse and the spacing of births
4.
Ache
divorce and multiple paternity: A male and female problem: Fidelty or
promiscuity
5.
Inheritance
in historical Europe: Equal or unequal treatment for offspring
We will use the fact that these are old problems to
understand the strategies that people adopt in solving them. We will look at these problems from a
perspective that compares solutions across species, cultures and individuals
within cultures. We will use a very
powerful theory, the theory of evolution
by natural selection, to understand why people choose the solutions they do
and why solutions vary depending upon the environment.
This class will take a purely scientific approach to the subject
matter.
The Difference between “is” and “ought” - This class
will focus on is.
We define "ought" as anything having to do
with the desireability or moral value of an outcome: e.g. all races deserve
equal treatment, abortion is a women's right, abortion is a sin against god,
picasso produced more beautiful pictures than Rembrandt
We define "is" as anything having to do
with what exists (ontology) and why what exists occured (i.e. relations between
causes and effects)
If you want to know what "is", you must
not color what you find out by what you think ought to be the case.
This course is about what is: we want to describe
and explain human variation.
You can wear two hats at different times: the
"is" hat and the "ought" hat.
Science is the best way of getting answers to
"is" questions but cannot get answers to "ought "
questions.
Detailed Coverage of the Syllabus
Study hints
1. Read chapter before class
2. Review your notes from the last class just before
the next class
3. Compare class notes and readings - search out
inconsistencies and your confusion
4. ASK QUESTIONS
161 - The Human Evolutionary Ecology Computer Lab