Survival of the Prettiest: The Science of Beauty by Nancy Etcoff (English) Paper

Description: Survival of the Prettiest by Nancy Etcoff In this provocative, witty, and expertly researched inquiry into what we find beautiful and why, psychologist Nancy Etcoff skewers the enduring myth that the pursuit of beauty is a learned behavior; instead "sensitivity to beauty is to a very large extent hard-wired in the human brain" ("The Wall Street Journal"). Illustrations. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description A provocative and thoroughly researched inquiry into what we find beautiful and why, skewering the myth that the pursuit of beauty is a learned behavior. In Survival of the Prettiest, Nancy Etcoff, a faculty member at Harvard Medical School and a practicing psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, argues that beauty is neither a cultural construction, an invention of the fashion industry, nor a backlash against feminism—its in our biology. Beauty, she explains, is an essential and ineradicable part of human nature that is revered and ferociously pursued in nearly every civilization—and for good reason. Those features to which we are most attracted are often signals of fertility and fecundity. When seen in the context of a Darwinian struggle for survival, our sometimes extreme attempts to attain beauty—both to become beautiful ourselves and to acquire an attractive partner—suddenly become much more understandable. Moreover, if we understand how the desire for beauty is innate, then we can begin to work in our own interests, and not just the interests of our genetic tendencies. Author Biography Nancy Etcoff has an M.Ed. from Harvard, a Ph.D. in psychology from Boston University, and has held a post-doctoral fellowship in brain and cognitive sciences at MIT. She is currently a faculty member at Harvard Medical School and a practicing psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Review "Authoritative and surprisingly entertaining." —Chicago Tribune"Survival of the Prettiest is the first book to pull all of the science on beauty into one lively yet thoughtful package, showing again that its not just ax-grinding males who believe that biology continues to play an important role in our lives." —The New York Times Book Review"Through a series of global scientific studies, Etcoff . . . presents a compelling argument for why so many cultures are influenced by beauty." —The Boston Globe"Nancy Etcoff . . . writes confidently that todays culture of beauty is not a backlash against feminism. She delves into why we devour fashion magazines, agonize about waist sizes, and gaze longingly at objects of desire." —Houston Chronicle"[A] sprightly, spunky, well-written treatise on the Darwinian science of looking good." —Entertainment Weekly Review Quote "Authoritative and surprisingly entertaining. . . . " --Chicago Tribune "Survival of the Prettiestis the first book to pull all of the science on beauty into one lively yet thoughtful package, showing again that its not just ax-grinding males who believe that biology continues to play an important role in our lives." Excerpt from Book The Nature of Beauty Philosophers ponder it and pornographers proffer it. Asked why people desire physical beauty, Aristotle said, "No one that is not blind could ask that question." Beauty ensnares hearts, captures minds, and stirs up emotional wildfires. From Plato to pinups, images of human beauty have catered to a limitless desire to see and imagine an ideal human form. But we live in the age of ugly beauty, when beauty is morally suspect and ugliness has a gritty allure. Beauty is equal parts flesh and imagination: we imbue it with our dreams, saturate it with our longings. But to spin this another way, reverence for beauty is just an escape from reality, it is the perpetual adolescent in us refusing to accept a flawed world. We wave it away with a clich Details ISBN0385479425 Author Nancy Etcoff Short Title SURVIVAL OF THE PRETTIEST Pages 336 Language English ISBN-10 0385479425 ISBN-13 9780385479424 Media Book Format Paperback DEWEY 391.6 Year 2000 Residence Boston, MA, US Subtitle The Science of Beauty DOI 10.1604/9780385479424 Place of Publication New York Country of Publication United States AU Release Date 2000-07-11 NZ Release Date 2000-07-11 US Release Date 2000-07-11 UK Release Date 2000-07-11 Publisher Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group Inc Publication Date 2000-07-11 Imprint Bantam Doubleday Dell Illustrations ILLUSTRATIONS THROUGHOUT Audience General We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:2628286;

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