Scandinavian Legends and Folk-Tales |
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Author:
| Jones, Gwyn |
Series title: | Oxford Myths and Legends Ser. |
ISBN: | 978-0-19-274124-0 |
Publication Date: | Dec 1979 |
Publisher: | Oxford University Press, Incorporated
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Book Format: | Hardback |
List Price: | USD $14.95 |
Book Description:
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The "ant" and the "peacock" stand for two puzzles in Darwinism--altruism and sexual selection. How can natural selection favor those, such as the worker ant, that renounce tooth and claw in favor of the public-spirited ways of the commune? And how can "peacocks"--flamboyant, ornamental and apparently useless--be tolerated by the grimly economical Darwinian reaper? Helena Cronin has a deep understanding of today's answers to these riddles and their roots in the nineteenth century; the...
More DescriptionThe "ant" and the "peacock" stand for two puzzles in Darwinism--altruism and sexual selection. How can natural selection favor those, such as the worker ant, that renounce tooth and claw in favor of the public-spirited ways of the commune? And how can "peacocks"--flamboyant, ornamental and apparently useless--be tolerated by the grimly economical Darwinian reaper? Helena Cronin has a deep understanding of today's answers to these riddles and their roots in the nineteenth century; the analysis is new and exciting and the explanations lucid and compelling.