Male sexual indiscriminacy and risk-taking that increased reproductive success in ancestral environments are no longer adaptive in the modern context of reliable contraception, in vitro fertilization, and adoption; yet these psychological drives persist because only a few generations have passed since these innovations, insufficient for evolutionary selection to operate.

causalpending

Speaker

Stephen Pinker

Evidence Quote

“men who are indiscriminate in seeking multiple sexual partners would have had more offspring that is no longer even adaptive in terms of maximizing reproductive output in a world of contraception”

Source

Steven Pinker Meets Richard Dawkins | On Reason and Rationality— How To Academy
Created: 8/11/2026, 1:18:49 AM

My Notes

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