The Descent of Man

Charles Darwin’s 1871 book argues that humans evolved from earlier forms of life and explains sexual selection, extending evolutionary theory to human origins and behavior.

Sexual selection: Evolutionary change driven by differences in mating success, including competition for mates and mate choice. Darwin introduced this process to explain traits, such as ornamentation, that natural selection alone seemed unable to explain.
Intrasexual selection: Sexual selection arising from competition among members of one sex for access to mates. Darwin used contests among males to explain traits such as weapons and greater body size.
On the Origin of Species: Charles Darwin’s 1859 book presenting evolution by natural selection and common descent across living organisms. Darwin’s later book extends this work to human origins and sexual selection.
Human evolution: The evolutionary history of humans, including their divergence from other primates and subsequent biological change. Darwin’s account became a foundational argument that humans have an evolutionary history.
Natural selection: The change in inherited traits across generations when individuals with different traits leave different numbers of offspring. The book applies Darwin’s established evolutionary mechanism to human ancestry and variation.
Intersexual selection: Sexual selection arising when members of one sex choose among potential mates of the other sex. Darwin invoked mate preferences to explain ornaments and courtship displays.
The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals: Charles Darwin’s 1872 book comparing emotional expressions in humans and other animals. It developed arguments about human-animal continuity adjacent to those in The Descent of Man.
Evolutionary psychology: An approach that studies psychological traits as products of evolutionary processes. Darwin’s discussion of mental continuity and behavior helped frame later evolutionary accounts of the mind.
Common descent: The evolutionary principle that different species descend from shared ancestral populations. Darwin argued that humans and other animals share ancestors rather than standing apart from nature.
Mate choice: A mating pattern in which individuals choose partners based on particular traits or behaviors. It supplies Darwin’s mechanism for how preferences can shape conspicuous traits over generations.

Linked from 11 pages