Savanna principle
Encyclopedia
The Savanna Principle is a theory about the evolutionary roots of the human brain. Developed and researched by Satoshi Kanazawa
it asserts that the environment that molded the human brain through natural selection
is drastically different than the world humans currently live in. This disparity between what man was adapted to do and what he currently can do leads to a host of societal difficulties, according to the theory. For example, ancestors who craved sugary and fatty foods lived longer and were healthier than those who didn't, in a time that such things were relatively scarce. Today, the abundance of such temptations leads to obesity
and heart disease
. Similar scenarios are illustrated with television, sex, and jealousy. The theory is espoused heavily in Kanazawa's book Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters.
takes its roots from this cultural past. It was later popularized by Malcolm Gladwell
in The Tipping Point
as an integral part of human psychology. In these small bands of people, things like sexual jealousy (preventing cuckoldry), infanticide (limiting the spending of resources), paranoia (safety), martyrdom (helping the survival of a relative with shared genes) developed as effective and necessary traits. From these seeds grew behaviors that are both condemned and lauded in today's society.
often reflects that disparity.
claims that population pressures and a Malthusian Trap
drastically altered Western society between 1200 AD and the Industrial Revolution
. According to him, the disparity between the reproduction rates of the rich and poor in England led natural selection to favor vastly different traits and thus contradicts, at least in part, the idea that the human brain has not changed since the days of the Savanna. And it also challenges the belief that traits cannot be bred out of the population in a relatively short period of time.
Satoshi Kanazawa
Satoshi Kanazawa PhD is a Reader in Management at the London School of Economics. His work uses evolutionary psychology to analyze social sciences such as sociology, economics, and anthropology...
it asserts that the environment that molded the human brain through natural selection
Natural selection
Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....
is drastically different than the world humans currently live in. This disparity between what man was adapted to do and what he currently can do leads to a host of societal difficulties, according to the theory. For example, ancestors who craved sugary and fatty foods lived longer and were healthier than those who didn't, in a time that such things were relatively scarce. Today, the abundance of such temptations leads to obesity
Obesity
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...
and heart disease
Heart disease
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
. Similar scenarios are illustrated with television, sex, and jealousy. The theory is espoused heavily in Kanazawa's book Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters.
Origins of Life
As humans lived in relative stability for thousands of years in Africa, certain traits beneficial to that environment evolved into dominance. Individuals lived in tribes of roughly 150 people, regularly practiced war and often engaged in polygamy. Dunbar's NumberDunbar's number
Dunbar's number is suggested to be a theoretical cognitive limit to the number of people with whom one can maintain stable social relationships. These are relationships in which an individual knows who each person is, and how each person relates to every other person...
takes its roots from this cultural past. It was later popularized by Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell, CM is a Canadian journalist, bestselling author, and speaker. He is currently based in New York City and has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996...
in The Tipping Point
The Tipping Point
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference is a book by Malcolm Gladwell, first published by Little Brown in 2000....
as an integral part of human psychology. In these small bands of people, things like sexual jealousy (preventing cuckoldry), infanticide (limiting the spending of resources), paranoia (safety), martyrdom (helping the survival of a relative with shared genes) developed as effective and necessary traits. From these seeds grew behaviors that are both condemned and lauded in today's society.
Challenges
Obviously, the majority of the human race no longer calls the Savanna home, and fewer still live in tribal societies. According to the Principle, though our morality has moved forward, our brains remain stuck in the Savanna. In other words, the stability of our modernity has existed for a far shorter time than the years spent in the plains of Africa, and human natureHuman nature
Human nature refers to the distinguishing characteristics, including ways of thinking, feeling and acting, that humans tend to have naturally....
often reflects that disparity.
Criticism
The Savanna Principle holds that the brain has undergone little if no change in the last 10,000 years . Some scholars challenge this view. Author Gregory ClarkGregory Clark (economist)
Gregory Clark is an economic historian at the University of California, Davis.-Biography:Clark, whose grandfathers were migrants to Scotland from Ireland, earned his B.A. in economics and philosophy at King's College, Cambridge in 1979 and his Ph.D. at Harvard in 1985...
claims that population pressures and a Malthusian Trap
Malthusian catastrophe
A Malthusian catastrophe was originally foreseen to be a forced return to subsistence-level conditions once population growth had outpaced agricultural production...
drastically altered Western society between 1200 AD and the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
. According to him, the disparity between the reproduction rates of the rich and poor in England led natural selection to favor vastly different traits and thus contradicts, at least in part, the idea that the human brain has not changed since the days of the Savanna. And it also challenges the belief that traits cannot be bred out of the population in a relatively short period of time.