--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: there is every reason to suppose that…" description: "\"“there is every reason to suppose that people living in agrarian societies were subject to intense forces of natural selection. But what traits were be..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b3/nicholas-wade-11913_natural-selection_there-is-every-reason-to-suppose-that-pe_21368.jpg" --- # there is every reason to suppose that people living in… ![“there is every reason to suppose that people living in agrarian societies were subject to intense forces of natural selection. But what traits were being selected for during the long agrarian past? Evidence described in chapter 7 indicates that it was human social nature that changed.” quote by Nicholas Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b3/nicholas-wade-11913_natural-selection_there-is-every-reason-to-suppose-that-pe_21368.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b3/nicholas-wade-11913_natural-selection_there-is-every-reason-to-suppose-that-pe_21368.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b3/nicholas-wade-11913_natural-selection_there-is-every-reason-to-suppose-that-pe_21368.jpg) > ““there is every reason to suppose that people living in agrarian societies were subject to intense forces of natural selection. But what traits were being selected for during the long agrarian past? Evidence described in chapter 7 indicates that it was human social nature that changed.”” [Nicholas Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-wade/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human social traits, rather than physical ones, were the primary targets of natural selection during the agrarian era, reshaping our social nature. **In simple terms:** Agrarian life selected for social behavior. Key Takeaway Social evolution drove human change. Themes evolution social behavior anthropology history Mood analytical curious Type scientific historical When to use this quote - studying ancient societies - examining modern social norms - educational curricula Key Concepts selection pressures cultural adaptation Practical Applications - apply evolutionary perspective to social policy - design community interventions Questions to Reflect On - What social traits were most advantageous in agrarian societies? - How do these ancient pressures manifest today? A Different Perspective Evidence for social selection is indirect; other factors also contributed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agrarian Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agrarian-past-398165/) [Agrarian Societies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agrarian-societies-398166/) [Natural selection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-selection/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Selection Traits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selection-traits-398168/) [Social Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-nature-398167/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“...agriculture and its attending social changes have likely increased selection for traits such as self-control, lower time discounting, and tolerance for routine over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-del-giudice/agriculture-and-its-attending-social-changes-have-likely-increased/) [Marco del Giudice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-del-giudice/) > [We scientists have way too much a tendency to simplify problems. 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But our social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/on-the-one-hand-our-social-nature-is-our-greatest-beauty-it-means/) [Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/) > [“Human sociality is often assumed to be entirely a matter of culture, originating from the age of life when children are taught to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-wade/human-sociality-is-often-assumed-to-be-entirely-a-matter-of-culture/) [Nicholas Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-wade/) > [“Americans may already have begun adapting genetically to the American environment in the several generations since their ancestors arrived in the United States. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-wade/americans-may-already-have-begun-adapting-genetically-to-the-american/) [Nicholas Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-wade/) > [The right to live does not connote the right of each man to reproduce his kind ... As we lessen the stringency of natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pearson/the-right-to-live-does-not-connote-the-right-of-each-man-to-reproduce/) [Karl Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pearson/) ## More by Nicholas Wade > [“The English state thus constructed a system, later followed by other European countries, in which the ruler was subject to the law and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-wade/the-english-state-thus-constructed-a-system-later-followed-by-other/) [Nicholas Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-wade/) > [“Although the emotional and intellectual differences between the world’s peoples as individuals are slight enough, even a small shift in social behavior can generate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-wade/although-the-emotional-and-intellectual-differences-between-the-world/) [Nicholas Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-wade/) > [“The king and queen were usually present, and the king or the dauphin would light a pyre. 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Behe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-behe/) > [Zoocentrism is the primary fallacy of human sociobiology, for this view of human behavior rests on the argument that if the actions of "lower"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/zoocentrism-is-the-primary-fallacy-of-human-sociobiology-for-this/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Ultimately, of course, you must decide for yourself whether the subjective psychological effects created by your evolved cognitive biases reflect an objective reality, perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-bering/ultimately-of-course-you-must-decide-for-yourself-whether-the/) [Jesse Bering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-bering/) > [It may be said that natural selection is daily and hourly scrutinizing, throughout the world, every variation, even the slightest; rejecting that which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-may-be-said-that-natural-selection-is-daily-and-hourly/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [“The second irony of evolutionary biology is that this transubstantiation of natural theology into the grand narrative of natural selection has itself taken the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-lustig/the-second-irony-of-evolutionary-biology-is-that-this/) [Abigail Lustig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-lustig/) > [“Fears were learned, but they were also inherited. 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