Christopher Ryan (author)

Last updated
Christopher Ryan
Born (1962-02-13) February 13, 1962 (age 62)
Education Saybrook University (BA, MA, PhD)
OccupationAuthor
SpouseCacilda Jethá
Website http://www.chrisryanphd.com

Christopher Ryan (born February 13, 1962) is an American author best known for co-authoring the book Sex at Dawn (2010).

Contents

Education

Ryan received a B.A. in English and American literature in 1984, and, twenty years later, an M.A. and Ph.D. in psychology from Saybrook University, an accredited, hybrid, low-residency/online learning program based in San Francisco. [1] His master's thesis examined differences in specific personality measures between working fashion models and the general public. His doctoral dissertation analyzed the prehistoric roots of human sexuality. It was guided by the psychologist Stanley Krippner, [2] a humanistic psychologist, Sabrina Zirkel, and Jürgen W. Kremer. [3]

Career

In 2010, Ryan and Cacilda Jethá, published Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality . The book examines the evolution of human mating systems, disputing what the authors see as the "standard narrative" of human sexual evolution. It contends that having multiple sexual partners was common and accepted in the environment of evolutionary adaptation, since, ostensibly, mobile, self-contained groups of hunter-gatherers were the norm for humans before agriculture led to high-population density. Before agriculture, according to the authors, sexual relations were promiscuous and paternity was not a concern, a dynamic similar to the mating system of bonobos, our most closely related primate.

The book generated a great deal of publicity, while numerous scholars from related academic disciplines—such as anthropology, evolutionary psychology, primatology, biology, and sexology—were critical of the book's methodology and conclusions, although some have commended its arguments.

In 2013, Ryan gave a TED talk [4] titled "Are we designed to be sexual omnivores?" The same year, Psychology Today began hosting a blog written by Ryan. [5] Ryan broadcasts a podcast called "Tangentially Speaking with Dr. Christopher Ryan". [6]

In 2019, Ryan published the book Civilized to Death: What Was Lost on the Way to Modernity, [n 1] [7] as well as the ebooks: Tangentially Reading (ASIN   B07C91LTZ2) and Tangentially Talking Drugs (ASIN   B07Y6TWJ7Z). drawing material from his podcast.

Private life

Ryan is married to his sometime collaborator and co-author of Sex at Dawn , Cacilda Jethá. [8]

Notes

  1. Also known as Civilized to Death: The Price of Progress

Related Research Articles

Evolutionary psychology is a theoretical approach in psychology that examines cognition and behavior from a modern evolutionary perspective. It seeks to identify human psychological adaptations with regards to the ancestral problems they evolved to solve. In this framework, psychological traits and mechanisms are either functional products of natural and sexual selection or non-adaptive by-products of other adaptive traits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orgasm</span> Intense physical sensation of sexual release

Orgasm or sexual climax is the sudden release of accumulated sexual excitement during the sexual response cycle, characterized by intense sexual pleasure resulting in rhythmic, involuntary muscular contractions in the pelvic region. Orgasms are controlled by the involuntary or autonomic nervous system and experienced by both males and females; the body's response includes muscular spasms, a general euphoric sensation, and, frequently, body movements and vocalizations. The period after orgasm is typically a relaxing experience, after the release of the neurohormones oxytocin and prolactin, as well as endorphins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trobriand Islands</span> Papua New Guinea, Oceania

The Trobriand Islands are a 450-square-kilometre (174-square-mile) archipelago of coral atolls off the east coast of New Guinea. They are part of the nation of Papua New Guinea and are in Milne Bay Province. Most of the population of 60,000 (2016) indigenous inhabitants live on the main island of Kiriwina, which is also the location of the government station, Losuia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Buss</span> American evolutionary psychologist (born 1953)

David Michael Buss is an American evolutionary psychologist at the University of Texas at Austin, researching human sex differences in mate selection. He is considered one of the founders of evolutionary psychology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geoffrey Miller (psychologist)</span> American evolutionary psychologist (born 1965)

Geoffrey Franklin Miller is an American evolutionary psychologist, author, and associate professor of psychology at the University of New Mexico. He is known for his research on sexual selection in human evolution.

Partible paternity or shared paternity is a cultural conceptualization of paternity according to which a child is understood to have more than one father; for example, because of an ideology that sees pregnancy as the cumulative result of multiple acts of sexual intercourse. In societies with the concept of partible paternity this often results in the nurture of a child being shared by multiple fathers in a form of polyandric relation to the mother, although this is not always the case.

Donald Symons was an American anthropologist best known as one of the founders of evolutionary psychology, and for pioneering the study of human sexuality from an evolutionary perspective. He is one of the most cited researchers in contemporary sex research. His work is referenced by scientists investigating an extremely diverse range of sexual phenomena. Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker describes Symons' The Evolution of Human Sexuality (1979) as a "groundbreaking book" and "a landmark in its synthesis of evolutionary biology, anthropology, physiology, psychology, fiction, and cultural analysis, written with a combination of rigor and wit. It was a model for all subsequent books that apply evolution to human affairs, particularly mine." Symons is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His most recent work, with Catherine Salmon, is Warrior Lovers, an evolutionary analysis of slash fiction.

Veneer theory is a term coined by Dutch primatologist Frans de Waal to label the Hobbesian view of human morality that he criticizes throughout his work. Although he criticizes this view in earlier works, the term in this form is introduced in his 2005 book Our Inner Ape, denoting a concept that he rejects, namely that human morality is "a cultural overlay, a thin veneer hiding an otherwise selfish and brutish nature". The idea of the veneer theory goes back to Thomas Henry Huxley and has more recently been advocated by biologists like George C. Williams.

<i>A Natural History of Rape</i> 2000 book by Randy Thornhill and Craig T. Palmer

A Natural History of Rape: Biological Bases of Sexual Coercion is a 2000 book by biologist Randy Thornhill and anthropologist Craig T. Palmer, in which the authors argue that evolutionary psychology can account for rape among human beings, maintain that rape is either a behavioral adaptation or a byproduct of adaptive traits such as sexual desire and aggressiveness, and make proposals for preventing rape. They also criticize the assumption that there is a connection between what is naturally selected and what is morally right or wrong, which they refer to as the "naturalistic fallacy", and the idea, popularized by the feminist author Susan Brownmiller in Against Our Will (1975), that rape is an expression of male domination and is not sexually motivated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexandra Katehakis</span> American psychotherapist

Alexandra Katehakis is the clinical director of the Center for Healthy Sex in Los Angeles and an author. Katehakis is a clinical supervisor at American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT) and clinical supervisor and member of the teaching faculty for the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals (IITAP) a national certifying body for sex addiction therapists. She has been a contributor to Psychology Today, Los Angeles Times and The Huffington Post, as well as a panelist at sexuality conferences and public events.

<i>Sex at Dawn</i> 2010 book by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá

Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality is a 2010 book about the evolution of human mating systems by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá. In opposition to what the authors see as the "standard narrative" of human sexual evolution, they contend that having multiple sexual partners was common and accepted in the environment of evolutionary adaptedness. The authors contend that mobile, self-contained groups of hunter-gatherers were the norm for humans before agriculture led to high population density. Before agriculture, according to the authors, sex was relatively promiscuous and paternity was not a concern. This dynamic is similar to the mating system of bonobos. According to the book, sexual interactions strengthened the bond of trust in the groups. Far from causing jealousy, social equilibrium and reciprocal obligation were strengthened by playful sexual interactions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darrel Ray</span> American writer and atheist activist

Darrel Wayne Ray is an American organizational psychologist and author who focuses on topics such as workplace organizational culture, secular sexuality, and the treatment of religion-induced trauma. He is a public speaker, podcaster, and atheist activist, and founded the non-profit organization Recovering from Religion as well as the Secular Therapy Project.

Female copulatory vocalizations, also called female copulation calls or coital vocalizations, are produced by female primates, including human females, and female non-primates. They are not purposeful, but instead are evolutionary and are spontaneously produced by female primates, including women, to encourage her partner to produce good-quality sperm during the mating process. Copulatory vocalizations usually occur during copulation and are hence related to sexual activity. Vocalizations that occur before intercourse, for the purpose of attracting mates, are known as mating calls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randy Thornhill</span> American entomologist and evolutionary biologist (born 1944)

Randy Thornhill is an American entomologist and evolutionary biologist. He is a professor of biology at the University of New Mexico, and was president of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society from 2011 to 2013. He is known for his evolutionary explanation of rape as well as his work on insect mating systems and the parasite-stress theory.

<i>The Evolution of Human Sexuality</i> 1979 book by Donald Symons

The Evolution of Human Sexuality is a 1979 book about human sexuality by the anthropologist Donald Symons, in which the author discusses topics such as human sexual anatomy, ovulation, orgasm, homosexuality, sexual promiscuity, and rape, attempting to show how evolutionary concepts can be applied to humans. Symons argues that the female orgasm is not an adaptive trait and that women have the capacity for it only because orgasm is adaptive for men, and that differences between the sexual behavior of male and female homosexuals help to show underlying differences between male and female sexuality. In his view, homosexual men tend to be sexually promiscuous because of the tendency of men in general to desire sex with a large number of partners, a tendency that in heterosexual men is usually restrained by women's typical lack of interest in promiscuous sex. Symons also argues that rape can be explained in evolutionary terms and feminist claims that it is not sexually motivated are incorrect.

The Society for Sex Therapy and Research is an international non-profit professional association. It was founded in 1975 and its members "have clinical and/or research interests in human sexual concerns." It provides means for exchanging ideas among clinicians and scientists treating or studying human sexuality. SSTAR membership includes professionals in varying disciplines including Psychology, Medicine, Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, Nursing, Sexology and the sciences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meg-John Barker</span> British writer and independent scholar

Meg-John Barker is a writer, writing mentor, creative consultant, speaker, and independent scholar. They have written a number of anti self-help books on the topics of relationships, sex, and gender, as well as the graphic non-fiction books, Queer: A Graphic History and Gender: A Graphic Guide, and the book The Psychology of Sex. They are the writer of the relationships book and blog Rewriting the Rules, and they have a podcast with sex educator Justin Hancock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diana Fleischman</span> American evolutionary psychologist (born 1981)

Diana Santos Fleischman is an American evolutionary psychologist. Her field of research includes the study of disgust, human sexuality, eugenics, and hormones and behaviour. She is also involved in the natalism, effective altruism, animal welfare, and feminism movements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justin Lehmiller</span> American social psychologist and author

Justin J. Lehmiller is an American social psychologist and author. He is a research fellow at the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sara Nasserzadeh</span> Iranian-American social psychologist

Sara Nasserzadeh is an Iranian-American social psychologist, public speaker and author. She is known mostly for her educational programs on BBC World Service and Persian TV on human sexuality and relationships. She received the BBC’s Innovation of the Year Award in 2007 and was among the BBC Persian 100 Influential Women. Nasserzadeh received the People of Distinction Humanitarian Award in New York City in 2014. She is also a winner of AASECT Book Award and AASECT Professional Standard of Excellence Award.

References

  1. Seidman, Barry F.; Dowret, Arnell (2011-02-27). "Speaking of Sex". The Humanist . No. March–April 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  2. "The Authors / FAQ". SexAtDawn.com. Archived from the original on 20 May 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  3. Ryan, Christopher Patrick (2003). Human sexual behavior in the Pleistocene: A challenge to the standard model of human evolution (PhD in Psychology thesis). Saybrook University. ProQuest   305260310.
  4. Ryan, Christopher (February 2013), Are we designed to be sexual omnivores?, TED2013: TED Talks , retrieved 9 October 2024{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  5. "Sex at Dawn". Psychology Today. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  6. "Tangentially Speaking". feralaudio.com. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  7. Ryan, Christopher (2019). Civilized to Death: The Price of Progress. Simon & Schuster. ISBN   978-1451659108.
  8. Ryan, Christopher (27 July 2017). "For the Record". Psychology Today . Retrieved 9 October 2024.