In every academic field there are fundamental assumptions that guide thinking and research. Evolutionary psychology is one of these fields. No doubt most of our biological characteristics exist because of natural selection. However, when applied to every form of human behavior and every social institution, this principle becomes bizarre--and fatuous.

Pyramids--the heart and soul of Ancient Egypt--were devoted to the proposition that the Pharaoh would live eternally in his second life. The message of the pyramids is "We are not like other animals. We shall not altogether die."

In building pyramids, human behavior went beyond natural selection. Providing no "survival value," pyramids were the moment at which hominids became--forever more a special kind of animal--a human being in flight from death. 

The quest for immortality, subsequently, became perhaps the defining characteristic of the human race. Escaping from the confines and limits of natural selection, we became a unique kind of animal.

Mei Ha Chan
Associate Director, Library of Social Science
MeiChan1@libraryofsocialscience.com