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There's something to that, but it doesn't explain menopause in women. If reproduction is the end-all-be-all, why not evolve the ability to reproduce throughout
by secabeen 11y ago
There's something to that, but it doesn't explain menopause in women. If reproduction is the end-all-be-all, why not evolve the ability to reproduce throughout the natural lifespan. See the Grandmother Hypothesis for a possible explanation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandmother_hypothesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandmother_hypothesis
- alejohausner 11y agoHumans are different from other primates, in this respect. For example, chimpanzees don't have menopause: female chimps continue to give birth until death. Elephants too. And Galapagos tortoises, I think. This fact argues against the theory that "nature just wants you to reproduce and then die". Why do chimps (and many other species) keep on reproducing in old age? Why are human women different?
- dorgo 11y ago>Why are human women different? Some mutation in early histroy maybe? Evolution never cared to fix it, because it happens later in life and most woman are done with reproducing at this point in life. >"nature just wants you to reproduce and then die" No. Nature just wants you to reproduce. Wheter you die afterward doesnt matter.