Christopher Ryan author photo
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Christopher Ryan

Christopher Ryan is an American author, psychologist, and speaker whose work examines human sexuality, prehistory, and the mismatch between evolved instincts and modern civilization. He is best known for coauthoring Sex at Dawn and writing Civilized to Death, books that sparked broad debate about monogamy, culture, and human nature.

Biography & Author's Journey

Christopher Ryan’s path to authorship was notably indirect. After earning a BA in English and American literature in 1984, he spent roughly two decades moving through a string of unconventional jobs and countries, working in places as varied as Alaska, Bangkok, Mexico, New York, and Spain. A decisive turning point came in his mid-30s, when, after a visit to the Findhorn Foundation, he chose to pursue doctoral study in psychology at Saybrook Graduate School in San Francisco. His dissertation, which reconsidered Darwinian assumptions about human sexual evolution, became the intellectual foundation for the book that would bring him broad recognition. ((https://www.chrisryanphd.com/about-chris))

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Quotes

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We didn’t descend from apes. We are apes
-The vastness of human sexuality: Christopher Ryan at TED2013
quote
Our evolved nature is in conflict with many aspects of the modern world…. There is a conflict between what we feel and what we’re told we should feel
-The vastness of human sexuality: Christopher Ryan at TED2013
quote
If we take away the either/or aspect to relationships when it comes to sex, I think we’ll end up with much more stable relationships and happier people, probably
-The Sex Taboo Represents Infantile Magical Thinking
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I think in western society because we’ve got these huge taboos about sexuality, we have infantile magical thinking related to sex
-The Sex Taboo Represents Infantile Magical Thinking
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Asked to imagine prehistoric human sex, most of us conjure the hackneyed image of the caveman, dragging a dazed woman by her hair with one hand, a club in the other...This image is mistaken in every detail
-How to Make Love Like a Caveman
quote
Chimps and Bonobos are equidistant from humans
-How to Make Love Like a Caveman
quote
We are designed by evolution to be titillated by erotic novelty, males and females
-Are humans hardwired for monogamy?
quote
The point of marriage is that you wanna get old with someone, you wanna share your life with someone, maybe you wanna raise children with someone, you wanna have a certain stability and trust that you couldn’t possibly get with short term relationships
-Are humans hardwired for monogamy?

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