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Chapter 3 - The Evolution of Love in Humans

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 December 2018

By
David M. Buss
Edited by
Robert J. Sternberg  and
Karin Sternberg
Robert J. Sternberg
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
Karin Sternberg
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
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Summary

“Love is blind,” according to a common saying. “Love is a recent invention, a mere few hundred years old,” some social scientists have argued. “Love is limited to Western cultures,” according to others. This chapter explains why all these beliefs are radically wrong. From an evolutionary perspective, love is an adaptation, or more accurately a complex suite of adaptations, designed to solve specific problems of survival and reproduction.

Type
Chapter
Information
The New Psychology of Love , pp. 42 - 63
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2018

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