I wrote:
>> it is
>>pursued for the fun of it and not exclusively as a means to an end. ...
Robin wrote:
>>OK, but the urge to do certain things "for fun" likely evolved for
>>instrumental reasons. I tend to take an evolutionary psychology perspective,
>>which insists that most behavior is instrumental at some level. Young animals
>>"play" in ways that seem instrumental practice at skills that will be
>>required as adults, such as chasing, hiding, etc. Similarly much of the play
>>of young humans can be understood as practicing for adult roles.
I'll grant that flirting can have instrumental value as practice even if you aren't
currently in the market for a mate, but the question was "Why are courting signals
ambiguous?" My response was (in part) aesthetics. Now if you want to propose an
evolutionary theory of aesthetics I think you have your hands full (if it hasn't
already been done it would be interesting to take a crack at it), but I think most of
the answer to the original question would have to come through that channel rather
than any instrumental reason.
I also think there are sex differences on this one. I suspect more women than men
enjoy flirting and that more men than women view it as purely instrumental. I'm
certainly willing to buy evolutionary explanations for that. -- Bill Dickens
William T. Dickens
The Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 797-6113
FAX: (202) 797-6181
E-MAIL: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
AOL IM: wtdickens
