2.14
intelligentsia
The Intellectual
The emergence of human beauty is a product of human origin and evolution | Image source: pixabay.com
Introduction
Evolutionary aesthetics tells us that the emergence of human beauty is a product of human origin and evolution, closely related to human need for sex, and also affected by human needs for food and safety.
Written by | Chen Shuihua
Editor-in-charge | Chen Xiaoxue
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For a long time, we tended to think that aesthetics was a high-level spiritual activity peculiar to human beings, a product of society and culture. Although different social groups often disagree on the standards of beauty, there are indeed many things in common in human beauty that have nothing to do with race, geography, and culture. For example, human beings have a highly consistent aesthetic of music, dance, color, human body, landscape and food. How did these common aesthetics come about? Or, why do we think they're beautiful?
Darwin had sensed that aesthetics could be the product of evolution. But he apparently couldn't establish a link between animal aesthetics and human aesthetics, especially to what extent culture influenced human aesthetics.
For a long time, culture has shaped the aesthetics of human beings has always been the mainstream view. It wasn't until the 1960s that the work of the Austrian zoologist Konrad Lorenz broke that pattern. Conrad Lawrenz was the founder of animal behavior and the author of the famous popular science books The Ring of Solomon and Attack and Humanity. Based on a large number of studies of animal behavior, Conrad Lawrence proposed his theory of cognitive evolution. He believes that human cognitive organs, together with the body, were formed in a long-term evolutionary process. In order to cope with various environmental problems, the human brain has to process a large amount of information, and gradually form cognitive algorithms and emotional patterns that are conducive to their own survival and reproduction, and the aesthetics and behavior of human beings actually have a profound evolutionary imprint [1].
Hawking declares at the beginning of The Grand Design that "philosophy is dead" because "philosophy cannot keep pace with the development of science, especially modern physics." Of course, this is a seemingly arrogant "manifesto". However, with the development of science, many traditional philosophical and anthropological propositions have indeed been gradually incorporated into the field of natural science. Even aesthetics, once considered a discipline dominated by subjective experience, is becoming increasingly scientific.
Evolutionary biology is a new scientific paradigm based on which a large number of emerging disciplines have been born, and evolutionary aesthetics is one of them. Evolutionary aesthetics tells us that the emergence of human beauty is a product of human origin and evolution, closely related to human needs for sex, food and safety.
Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" has attracted the attention of the world and sparked an enduring discussion, behind the mysterious smile of the Mona Lisa, in addition to Leonardo da Vinci's artistic genius, it also contains the common aesthetic preferences of human beings for faces. Studies have found that, in both men and women, those well-proportioned, not fat or thin face shapes are considered the most beautiful [2]. In terms of body type, men tend to prefer the hourglass type, a fertility symbol [3]. Women, on the other hand, prefer an inverted triangle, that is, men with wide shoulders, thin hips, and strong muscles, which is a manifestation of strength and is also the product of male testosterone [4]. There is no doubt that human aesthetics stem from the reproductive needs of human beings. These elements of "beauty" are the genetic embodiment of the spouse's excellent genes, which can reproduce equally healthy and fertile offspring. Darwin even said that human dance is actually a courtship and show-off ritual, like birds and insects.
Figure 1 The Mona Lisa | Image source: pixabay.com
Food and water are the most fundamental needs of human survival. A large number of human aesthetic preferences are related to food needs [5]. When we face a bright and plump good apple, we generally feel that it is beautiful, and in the face of a rotten and moldy bad apple, we unanimously feel that it is ugly. Why? Because good apples can be eaten, bad apples cannot be eaten. If you take a bite, the good apple is sweet, indicating that there is sugar in it, and sugar is what the human body needs. And bad apples are bitter, bitter and poisonous, and harmful to the human body. We take it for granted that sweet is delicious and bitter is not delicious. If we were to change it, if sugar is bitter and toxic substances are sweet, then we would say today that bitter is delicious and sweet is not delicious.
Similarly, the deliciousness of fish stems from our need for protein. The preference for salty taste stems from the body's need for salt. The "ethanol aroma" emitted by the fruit is a sign of fruit ripeness, and humans can judge not only the ripeness of the fruit by the taste and smell of the alcohol in the fruit, but even its caloric value.
Figure 2 A large number of human aesthetic preferences are related to food needs | Image source: pixabay.com
The human fascination with alcohol is not an evolutionary adaptation, but a "side effect" brought about by the aesthetic adaptation of the fruit. In order to prevent the intake of toxins, humans have evolved an "aversion" mechanism, and humans show a general dislike for rotten food, dirty food, foul-smelling food, leftovers, food that insects come into contact with, feces, etc. [6]. Because these foods and substances contain harmful substances, they may cause harm or disease to the human body.
Humans' preference for cooking food is also an evolutionary adaptation, which not only kills microbes, but also makes food easier to digest. Therefore, the use of fire has greatly promoted the pace of human evolution. The pregnancy response in pregnant women is also considered an evolutionary adaptation. Pregnant women are particularly sensitive to food, especially smelling spoiled meat, which often triggers vomiting. The vomiting reaction prevents toxins from entering the bloodstream of pregnant women, thus ensuring that fetal growth is not violated.
The preference for landscapes stems from human needs for habitats. Those breathtaking views mean rushing streams, abundant fish, delicious fruits and vegetables, and safe habitats. A survey conducted in Australia, the United States, and Argentina showed that the "savanna" was widely considered to be the most beautiful scenery [7]. The fact that savannas are the origins of humans fits the hypothesis that natural selection has shaped human habitat preferences. Savannahs have a wide view and abundant biological species, which is convenient for finding food and escaping danger, and the trees on the grassland can also protect people from the sun. People love the emerald green trees and colorful flowers, which means they will bring a lot of fruit. Humanity's preference for rushing rivers and tranquil lakes means they can meet our water needs, as well as provide an abundance of fish stocks.
Figure 3 Savannah
In order to avoid predators, humans have evolved fear and anxiety. These objects of fear for humans include: snakes, spiders, cliffs, densities, strangers, and so on. The snake is a common object of fear among different groups of people around the world, because it is a major threat to human evolution for a long time. Even infants and young children who had never seen snakes and spiders showed a fear response when confronted with a photograph of snakes and spiders.
Figure 4 In order to avoid predators, humans have evolved fear and anxiety | Image source: pixabay.com
Dennis Denton, a famous Evolutionary Aesthetician in New Zealand, gave an example in his Artistic Instincts, where he bought a rubber snake to put on the windowsill to scare away the noisy pigeons that gathered outside the window. The pigeons gathered together, and the moment they saw the snake, they flew away in horror and did not come back. There are no snakes in New Zealand, but these European pigeons, although they have lived and bred in New Zealand for hundreds of generations, their ancestral fear of snakes is still engraved in their genes [8].
Today, most people have moved to cities, where they are safe and comfortable, with no worries about food and clothing, but the desire for the natural environment is still deeply rooted. A branch outside the window, a bird in the sky, a flood of clear water nearby, and a pot of flowers on the desk all seem to have the magic of soothing the soul.
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About the Author
Chen Shuihua, Director of Zhejiang Provincial Museum, Research Librarian, Ph.D. in Ornithology of Beijing Normal University, long-term engaged in ornithology and conservation biology research, as well as science popularization work, Chief Science Communication Expert of Bird Diversity and Ecological Civilization of China Association for Science and Technology, a seat and TED speaker, has won the Subaru Ecological Concern Contribution Award and the Alxa SEE Ecological Award.
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bibliography:
[1] Lorenz, K. Z. (1965) Evolution and the modification of behavior. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
[2] Thornhill, R. & Gangestad, S. W. (1999) Facial attractiveness. Trend in Cognitive Science, 3(12)：260-452.
[3] Singh, D. (1993) Adaptive significance of female physical attractiveness: Role of waist-to-hip ratio. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(2): 293-307.
[4] Horvath,T. (1979) Correlates of physical beauty in men and women. Social Behavior and Personality, 7(2):145-151.
[5] Chatterjee, A. (2013) The aesthetic brain. Oxford: Oxford University Press
David Bass. (2019) Evolutionary Psychology (4th ed.). Beijing:The Commercial Press.]
[7] Orians, G. H. & Heerwagen, J. H. (1992) Evolved responses to landscapes. In E. C. penning-Rowsell & D. Lowenthal (eds), Landscape meaning and values (pp. 3-25). London: Allen & Uniwin.
[8] Dutton, D. (2009) The art instinct: beauty, pleasure, and human evolution. New York: Bloomsbury Press.
Plate editing | Ginger duck