intelligence

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Intelligence seems to go along with increasing social complexity.
I.e., the most intelligent species seem to be the most social --
consider dogs, humans, dolphins, etc compared to rabbits.
Therefore, I suggest that intelligence evolved in this context for
the purpose of manipulating social relationships. Obviously, humans
are a particularly dramatic case. Alexander (1989) in his paper
on the evolution of the humans psyche [in Mellers & Stringer (eds.)
_The Human Revolution_] argues (in a nutshell) that the selective
pressure for the evolution of "scenario building" occurred in response
to needs for intra-group cooperation in the context of inter-group
competition.

Incidentally, the idea that intelligence evolved in cold environments
(environments requiring forethought and planning) is, I think, the
basis of Rushton's book. It seems a better idea is to look at what
we use our intelligence for most frequently -- i.e. to sort out and
regulate our social relationships.

Rob Quinlan

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