Chapter 10 Summary and Analysis

The question of this chapter is, "why did humans develop intelligence?" Several common hypotheses are suggested and sexual selection is finally posited as a solution. On common suggestion is that humans need their intelligence for learning. Animals have instincts that prepare them for familiar situations but which do not allow them to learn new information easily. Human minds easily acquire new information, which is an advantage. New evidence suggests, however, that much of human learning is developed through instincts. Chomsky has suggested the idea that language acquisition is party the result of an innate or genetically acquired ability to learn grammar. Modern psychology and linguistics supports this claim. Our ability to distinguish easily between objects and to see certain objects as whole also looks to be partially that result of genetics. Our instincts require certain environmental factors to work. Children that...