episode-header-image

Apr 2010

7m 27s

Why are families getting smaller?

THE OPEN UNIVERSITY

About this episode

The current decline in family size seems to contradict the Darwinian model of inclusive fitness but it can be explained as a tradeoff between the cost of bringing up children and the number of children in a family.

Up next

Evolution and the family

A short introduction to this album.

How families have evolved

What happens when you apply Darwin to human social structures? Ruth Mace explains the value of this approach.

Dismantle the family with Darwinian tools

The comparative method can be used to investigate how culture relates to environment. The reproductive pattern of human females is a particularly interesting puzzle for evolutionary biologists.

Recommended Episodes

Exploring the classical world

A brief introduction to this album.

Diverse Perspectives on Mental Health

A short introduction to this album.

Environment: habitat and conservation

A short introduction to this album.

Community Social Care

A short introduction to this album.

What Evolution Really Tells Us About Life | A Conversation with Steven Pinker

In this episode of The Poetry of Reality, Richard Dawkins engages in an insightful conversation with Steven Pinker about evolution, his motivation for writing The Blind Watchmaker, and a breakdown of his latest book, The Genetic Book of the Dead Steven Pinker is a Canadian-Americ ... Show More

Design and Sustainability

A short introduction to this album.

Reading Political Philosophy: From Machiavelli to Mill

An introduction to this album.

Earth in crisis: environmental policy in an international context

A short introduction to this album

Geological time

A short introduction to this album.

Facilitating creative thinking

An introduction to this album

Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami