The concepts presented are interesting and entirely plausible.
Reading the replies (some more resistant to the concept than others) I would like to point out what I feel is an important distinction to recognize.
One of the problems in dealing with evolutionary explanations for behavior, *especially* human behavior, is that people forget to make the distinction between the underlying selective advantages that may have shaped patterns of expression of the behavior in the population, and the actual *motivation* for behavior in individuals.
One has nothing at all to do with the other.
Although the various fitness pay-offs for female infidelity are definitely real evolutionary forces, they are never the motivating force in the mind of a woman when she makes such decisions.
The evolutionary forces can only act on heritable components of the behavior without any inherent determinism with respect to its expression.
They can only serve to increase disposition to certain types of activity in very subtle, indirect, and unconscious ways.
There is no need for conscious reasoning or awareness of any sort on the part of the individual for evolution to work.
This message has been edited by EZscience, 05-15-2005 03:01 PM
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