SurvivingInfidelity.com^®

Sisoon,

I read two books during my formative years that I still reflect on.

One was "The Naked Ape" by Desmond Morris. He tried to show how much of human behavior, and physical characteristics, are driven by nature, by biology, by survival of the fittest. (Nature trumps nurture)

The other was "Beyond Freedom and Dignity" by B. F. Skinner. He was very much in the "nurture trumps nature" camp. He espoused "Cultural Engineering" to solve humanity’s problems.

Morris’s book has been somewhat discredited; Skinner’s is still debated.

But I would say that "nurture trumps nature" has largely prevailed. Most psychologists agree with your statement that human behavior is so variable that it cannot be tied to biology.

This stance, of course, creates room for psychologists.

I find myself a little more in the "nature" camp. But I acknowledge the variability of human behavior.

Nonetheless, when somebody acts consistently with "survival of the fittest", (promiscuity) I am content to blame nature.

And when we act inconsistently with "nature" (monogamy), I credit our big brains for overcoming our dna.

Monogamy ensured much lower risk for disease, higher success and survival of the offspring, longer lifespan for the partners, lower mortality overall.

In modern societies, maybe. I haven't heard this theory before.

Evolution is a fact. It has been proven ad nauseum. The theory of evolution pertains to how it occurs. There are many ways that it can occur that have been repeatedly proven.

The ultimate goal of evolution for any species is to survive and reproduce. Reproduction is the relatively easy part. Survival is the struggle. People generally need other people to survive. Humankind does not necessarily need marriage to achieve either of those goals. Societies might, depending on how they are structured.

Humans are not anymore inherently or innately monogamous than any other species. Many species pair bond, and are still not monogamous.

In modern societies, maybe. I haven't heard this theory before.

We do not die as much for STDs now that are curable (still happens though).

The count of deaths for STDs used to be in the millions until fairly recently.
They can be passed on opportunisticaly in other way than sex, hence more polygamous individual around, the higher the chance.

Side issues also include infertility or sterility.

Diseases are one of the main drivers for human behaviors, in some culture or religion you have several taboos about various things because in that area was a real health risk.

Monogamy in pair bonding drastically cut that risk, so it was "canonized" in most cultures.