Survival of the Beautiful: Art Science and Evolution

About this book

"The peacocks tail " said Charles Darwin "makes me sick." Thats because the theory of evolution as adaptation cant explain why nature is so beautiful. It took the concept of sexual selection for Darwin to explain that a process that has more to do with aesthetics than the practical. Survival of the Beautiful is a revolutionary new examination of the interplay of beauty art and culture in evolution. Taking inspiration from Darwins observation that animals have a natural aesthetic sense philosopher and musician David Rothenberg probes why animals humans included have innate appreciation for beauty-and why nature is indeed beautiful. Sexual selection may explain why animals desire but it says very little about what they desire. Why will a bowerbird literally murder another bird to decorate its bower with the victims blue feathers? Why do butterfly wings boast such brilliantly varied patterns? The beauty of nature is not arbitrary even if random mutation has played a role in evolution. What can we learn from the amazing range of animal aesthetic behavior-about animals and about ourselves? Readers who enjoyed the bestsellers The Art Instinct and The Minds Eye will find Survival of the Beautiful an equally stimulating and profound exploration of art science and the creative impulse.