Evolution and Rape?

Question

There are evolutionary psychologists who propose that rape is hardwired into the male brain and all men are biologically programmed to do so if there are no social consequences or punishment. What do you guys think about this theory?

bravozulu - It was 2 men, biologist Randy Thornhill and anthropologist Craig T. Palmer, who proposed this. Not man hating feminists.

cowboydoc - I did not come up with this theory; Biologist Randy Thornhill and anthropologist Craig T. Palmer did in their book. I am not saying I agree with it. I am simply posing the question to see what other people think. Most men I talk to (outside Yahoo Answers) agree with it. By the way - not a youngster - already did my homework and got a Masters degree.

Answer 1

Males of most mammilian species have a tendancy towards forced sexual contact but humans have a large frontal lobes and this gives us, among other things, impulse control beyond most species. Humans are influenced greatly by the societies in which they live.

I think the majority of men in the western world would never consider raping someone.

An interesting thing concerning rape that is almost universal though, is that in most cultures, if a woman is raped, she is the one held responsible, and rape claims are often taken as lies when they are made.

Answer 2

I am highly skeptical of any theory that claims there is a biological basis for rape, but that does not support its claim with actual biological facts. What support do Randy Thornhill and anthropologist Craig T. Palmer provide for their claims? Some men try to make rape seem like a natural act to make rape immune from criminality and immorality claims. Evolutionary psychology is a pseudoscience because it is based ONLY on speculation and loose conjecture. Theory cannot be proven with theory alone. Evolutionary psychology provides only "evidence" that is too open to interpretation, and it is not grounded on concrete, psychoneurological observations of actual physical processes.

Answer 3

Just look at how rapidly rabbits procreate.
The female praying mantis eats off the male's head, so that it can get more nutrients to support it's young. Seeming babaric, but maybe necessary.
Evolution would probably support the view that the main purpose of our life is to produce offsprings to continue the species. It is "hardwired" into men and not women because women biologically have to deal with 9 months of inconvenience, men are not biologically inhibited in the same way, hence they are more suited to spread their seed as far and wide as possible.

I noticed a lot of people disagree. No disrespect for their opinions, but they seem to be inhibited by laws and social rules that envelop modern society these days.

Lets see....., what if there were some freak accident that killed off 99% of all men ?? There wouldn't be a social consequence for "rape". Men would be encouraged to spread their seed as much as possible and women would not protest it. It would be hypothetically a perfectly natural course that the need for survival would force them to take.

Of course, "rape" as used in the context of this question is actually a rather pathetic way of expressing the idea of this question.
I rather call it "the need to procreate through sex."
Rape is but a word made up thru social consequence.

Answer 4

You are misrepresenting the facts. The theory is that rape may be an adaption, or the result of other adaptions. Rape may be a contingent strategy, to a varying degree in males. Some strongly, some not at all. You obviously do not understand the theory, or genetics. Nothing is hard wired, as that is a newspaper misconception. Nothing is programed, as the effects of the genes are probabilistic.
Your ignorance needs addressing here, as it seems you have got the information all wrong.

Answer 5

I've read of rape being suggested as one reproductive strategy out of many others, but I've never heard of the contention that it's hard-wired into every male's brain.

In general, I think one needs to be very skeptical about the field of evolutionary psychology. One of the problems with the field is that post-hoc reasoning can be used to "explain" almost anything. In the end, any theory needs to be backed up by observation or experiment. There is a shortage of either in the field of evolutionary psychology.

Answer 6

I do believed that rape is a mental mechanism that can be lighted up when certain social conditions are presents. I believed that male would become much more inclined to rape women in case that those man are not considering themself part of a social group similar to the targeted woman. In this case they are not scared of the possible outcome of their actions, as they do believed that they will get away with it. Also, when a men is discarded from a society or group, it become a survival instinct to do so, in order to increase chance of its genes to be spread along other generations.
Since men are social beings, this phenomenon could be explained by the theory above, as it is about the same thing that is observed in primates society, the rogue primates will try to rape females of larger group, as they don`t have access to females in their smaller group.

Answer 7

On just a pure scientific/logical note the argument has merits. Even history would confirm accounts of "rape" being intentionally used as a means of one group taking over another. Its often called assimilation when looked at on a evolutionary scale. Humans may be hard wired to do many things, doesn't mean we would do them.

Answer 8

Hey, we kill when there is no social consequence and punishment (war).
I believe that the size of the human male is a direct result of overpowering the female. Till humans formed societies and made rules I guess women were forced upon.

Answer 9

I don't buy that. I believe rape is a bi-product of a patriarchal culture that devalues women as a whole. Remember, rape has more to do with power and control than it does with sex. In other societies where women are held in high regard rape is extremely rare. For example, the Mosuo have no word for rape (though they do recognize it's existence) and it is traditionally punished by execution.

Answer 10

Rape is criminal behaviour.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Army_atrocities

South Africa has the highest rate of rape in the world because the locals believe that sex with a virgin will cure AIDS:

http://www-csvr.org.za/articles/artrapem.htm

The Afro-American has the highest rate of rape in the United States.