Handicap Principle
Discussion
Terje Bongard:
"The evolved results of this mechanism include the most spectacular parts of life on earth. The biological background is probably the fact that all living organisms have been the subject of diseases and parasites from the onstart of life more than 3 billion years ago. Through evolution of sex, which is one way of coping with diseases, the concept of show-off has been crucial (11). The principle, outlined by Zahavi, is as follows: If an individual can bear a cost, in the form of an ornament, a spectacular behavior, or a burden of some form, and still be healthy, visible and agile among peers, the individual show attractiveness. A mate who prefers this individual will get descendants who not only inherit the attractive signals, but are also able to spot such signals as attractive. Throughout all the animal kingdoms, examples are numerous and unambiguous. Being extremely sexually selected, human behavior and culture are filled with examples. Not only music, painting or arts of all forms, also politics, science and consumption can be analyzed to reveal elements of display of individual status and attractiveness. The human show-off behavior may take both subtle and visible forms, and constitute a basis for culture and all its variability. Of course, the selection for gathering resources has also been driven by natural selection. To have enough food and shelter has always been the basis for survival. But, a very important side effect of the Handicap Principle is the human urge to gather more than enough, and also show to others that one has more than plenty. This trait is found in all cultures through all times, and has led to a collapse in almost every known historical culture. With almost no exception, cultures who developed the technological means over-exploited their habitat. Driven by the evolved rewards from the human brain, ecosystem services like food, water and soil have been brought down to non-sustainable levels as soon as the number of people begun to rise during the last millennia."
Source
- Essay: Human behavioral ecology: new tools for analyzing symbolic value and ecosystem services, and implications for a democratic, sustainable economy and policy. By Terje Bongard and David Barton. (draft?)
More Information
- the book, The Biological Human