Randy Thornhill | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Albert Randolph Thornhill December 7, 1944 Decatur, Alabama, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Auburn University, University of Michigan |
| Known for | A Natural History of Rape,The Evolution of Insect Mating Systems |
| Spouse | Nancy Thornhill (divorced) Joy Thornhill (divorced) |
| Children | Aubri Thornhill, Sophie Thornhill, Margo Thornhill, Reed Thornhill, Patrick Thornhill |
| Awards | Humboldt Prize (1989)[1] |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Evolutionary psychology,entomology |
| Thesis | Evolutionary Ecology of the Mecoptera (Insecta) (1974) |
| Website | biology |
Randy Thornhill (born 1944) is an Americanentomologist andevolutionary biologist. He is a professor ofbiology at theUniversity of New Mexico, and was president of theHuman Behavior and Evolution Society from 2011 to 2013.[2] He is known for his evolutionary explanation ofrape as well as his work on insect mating systems and theparasite-stress theory.[3]
Thornhill was born inAlabama in 1944.[4] When he was 12, his mother introduced him toCharles Darwin'sThe Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, which encouraged his later interest in human evolution.[5]
He received a BS inZoology fromAuburn University in 1968, an MS in entomology from Auburn University in 1970, and a PhD in Zoology from theUniversity of Michigan in 1974. His doctoral thesis discussed theevolutionary ecology ofMecoptera insects.[6] He was formerly married to fellow researcher Nancy Thornhill.[7]
Thornhill's interests lie in the evolution and ecology of animal social psychology and behavior, as well ashuman behavioral ecology andevolutionary psychology.[6] In 1983, Thornhill publishedThe Evolution of Insect Mating Systems, a book that journalistEthan Watters described as "groundbreaking".[3] He considers this his most important work.[5] As of 2014, he has published four books and over 150 papers, which have been cited more than 17,000 times.[2] His work has been featured in many newspapers, magazines, television shows and radio programs,[6] including an interview onThe Today Show.[3]
Together with anthropologist Craig T. Palmer, Thornhill authoredA Natural History of Rape in 2000. Thornhill and Palmer proposed that rape should be understood through evolutionary psychology,[8] and criticized the argument that rape is not sexually motivated.[9] They argue that the capacity for rape is either anadaptation or a byproduct of adaptive traits such as sexual desire and aggressiveness.[8] The work provoked a major controversy. Thornhill received several death threats, and was assigned a campus police officer to escort him to and from class.[3] A compendium of academic criticism was published,[10] to which Thornhill responded.[11]
Since 2005, Thornhill has proposed that many human values evolved to protect againstpathogens.[2] He believes that morality, political systems and religion are all influenced by regional variations in pathogen levels. In particular, Thornhill and colleagues have suggested thatcollectivism andxenophobia serve to ward off infectious disease. In support of this, they reported that collectivist cultures had a higher prevalence of pathogens thanindividualist ones. Thornhill has also suggested that pathogen defense could help explain civil and ethnic warfare, homicide,patriarchal family structures, and social suppression of female sexuality.[3]
In 2021, Thornhill appeared as a guest on episode 38 of season 4 of theJordan B. Peterson Podcast entitled:Death, Disease, and Politics. There, he discussed his research and views with the host (Peterson) about a range of topics, includingattractiveness, Thornhill'sparasite-stress theory, and the “critical role thatinfectious disease plays in humanity,IQ,sex,religion, andconservatism”.[12][13]
