Abstract

In recent years the growth and influence of evolutionary psychology has been astonishing. Concepts which have been developed by prominent evolutionary psychologists in recent years can generally be traced back, not to The Origin of Species, but to Darwin’s two later books on evolution, The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex (1871) and Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872). Such concepts include reciprocal altruism, sexual selection and human cognitive abilities, sex differences in human mate choice and emotional expressions as adaptations. By considering Darwin’s writings on each of these topics, it is concluded that he foreshadowed the development of evolutionary psychology as an accepted academic discipline.