Why do we do things that we know are bad for us? Why do we line up to buy greasy fast food that is terrible for our bodies? Why do we take the potentially lethal risk of cosmetic surgery to have a smaller nose, bigger lips, or a less wrinkled face? Why do we risk life and limb in a fit of road rage to seek revenge against someone who merely cut us off in traffic? If these life choices are simply responses to cultural norms and pressures, then why did these particularly self-destructive patterns evolve in place of more sensible ones?

In When Culture and Biology Collide, E.O. Smith behaviours that are endemic to contemporary Western society, and proposes new ways of understanding and addressing these problems. Our physiology and behaviour are the products of thousands of generations of evolutionary history. Every day we play out behaviours that have been part of the human experience for a very long time, yet these behaviours are enacted in an arena that is far different from that in which they evolved. Smith argues that this discordance between behaviour and environment sets up conditions in which there can be real conflict between our evolving psychological perdispositions and the dictates of culture.

Topics such as drug abuse, depression, beauty and self-image, obesity and dieting, ethnic diversity and welfare are all used as sample case studies. 

Content - Acknowledgments, 1 Intersection of Biology and Culture, 2 Road Rage, Stress, and Evolution, Beauty, Blepharoplasty, Barbie, and Miss America, 4 Fat, Diet, and Evolution, 5 Depression, Antidepressants, and Evolution, 6 Welfare, Cooperation, and Evolution, Notes, References, Index