Donald Symons
American anthropologist (1942-2024)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Donald Symons (1942–2024) 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.[1][2][3] He is one of the most cited researchers in contemporary sex research.[4] His work is referenced by scientists investigating an extremely diverse range of sexual phenomena.[4] Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker described Symons' The Evolution of Human Sexuality (1979) as a "groundbreaking book"[5] 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."[4] Symons was Professor Emeritus[6] in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His last work, written with Catherine Salmon, was Warrior Lovers, an evolutionary analysis of slash fiction.
Pioneering the study of human sexuality
Donald Symons | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Anthropologist |
| Known for | One of the founders of evolutionary psychology Pioneering the study of human sexuality |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | University of California, Santa Barbara |
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