Evolutionary Psychology concentrates on the fundamental issues raised by the application of modern Darwinism to psychology. Basic concepts of evolution are explained carefully, before their often controversial application to psychology is discussed. The approach is critical, and the author does not hide the many difficulties that evolutionary psychology raises. Examples include the strange neglect of Darwin's own writings on psychology, and the fact that no existing theory has succeeded in explaining why the human brain first evolved. The book is the first to give a non-technical account of remarkable new findings about the roles conflicting genes play in building different parts of the brain. It is also the first to consider the consequences of this research for controversies like those over nature/nurture, IQ, brain lateralization, and consciousness. Evolutionary Psychology is based on many years' experience of teaching evolution and psychology to social science students, and is intended for all who wish to get to grips with the basic issues of one of the most exciting and rapidly growing areas of modern science.