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The Evolution of Art
Art as a Human Universal
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Is human art an adaptation?
 Ubiquitous across cultures
 “Pleasurable” for both creator and viewer
 Great deal of effort involved
The capacity to create art poses an
evolutionary problem
 If it is costly to produce, how did it evolve
and what function does it serve?
Zahavian Handicaps
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In 1975, Amotz Zahavi published a
fascinating theory
 Noting the excesses of many traits, he
argued that, if the cost of signaling is
greater than other means of conveying
information, it is a credible signal
 The costs are thought of as “handicaps,”
like in many sports
 This theory has been treated similarly in
the literature to Hamilton’s theory of kin
selection
Costly Signaling Theory
Signals between organisms should generally
be costly
 Typically, only costly signals are reliable (and
hence, trustworthy)
 Signals are also closely related to their
messages
 Ex.: courage in the face of danger does
not give any credible information regarding
wealth, while spending money does
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“The hand of the chimpanzee is quasi-human, the hand
of Jackson Pollock is almost animal” - Dali
Non-Human Analogies
The peacock’s tail
 Chimpanzee art
 Bowerbird bowers as extended phenotypes
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Theories of Art
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“Functional” theories
 Group cohesion
 Abstract perspectives/multiple worldviews
 Enabling a sense of harmony
Evolutionary theories
 By-product of other adaptations (e.g.,
visual system)
 Sexual choice via handicap principle
Artistic Ability as a Costly Signal
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Miller (2000) has proposed that the capacity
to create art is a Zahavian handicap, in that it
is costly and difficult to produce well
 Prior to industrialization, quality was often
measured in the accuracy of the detail
 Since then, defects indicate quality!
“From the moment that art ceases to be food
that feeds the best minds, the artist can use
his talents to perform all the tricks of the
intellectual charlatan.” – Picasso
Music & Honest Signaling
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Sluming & Manning (2000)
 2D:4D in male musicians (British
symphony orchestra)
 Lower than in controls
 Associated with rank
 Audience had a disproportionate number of
women in front seats
A Note on Sexual Functions
A considerable amount of “traditional” art
entails sexual content
 Details of sexual organs
 Exaggerated sexual characteristics
 It has often been proposed that artists were
sublimating their sexual urges
 A distinction must be made between the
sexual content and sexual function of art
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The Wrap-Up
Art as a human universal
 Zahavian handicaps and costly signaling
theory
 Art and aesthetics in non-human animals
 Functional and evolutionary theories of art
 Artistic ability as a costly signal
 Sexual functions vs. content
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Things to Come
Course conclusion
 Course review
 Exam review
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