Death, Resources and Reproduction

Reproduction, Resources, Hardship and Death

Evolutionary biologists often emphasize that our sexual reproductive patterns evolved not to support the survival of individuals but to support the propagation of genetic material.  Individuals only have to survive to the extent that their survival is favorable to the propagation of the genetic material they carry. 

That may seem like a pretty cold-hearted statement, but we, like just about every other living species, have always lived in fierce competition for the resources we need to consume in order to live. 

From an evolutionary standpoint, two questions about death seem natural, then: first, why do we grow old at all, and second, given that we do grow old, why do we humans live as long as we do (longer than almost any other animals)?  Both illuminate important aspects of our sexuality. 

Why do we age?

Why do we live so long?