A critical analysis of the basis of the so-called "theory of sexual selection" and the correspondence of its predictions to empirical results, initially aimed at its substantiation A history of the problem is given, breaking into four stages.. [ 1. Posts Tagged ‘.’ . [ [ Darwin in 1871. and the negative attitude towards it at that time on the part of the majority of the scientific community. 2. Long period of absence of references to sexual selection in the scientific literature. 3. Reformulating Darwin's Idea in Terms of Population Genetics by Mathematician P. Fisher . 4. A surge in interest in the topic in the 1970s and 1980s. The Darwin-Fisher theory turns out to be quickly accepted by the mainstream of biologists and turns into the dominant doctrine of “normal science” according to the scheme described by T.. Kuhn in "Structure of Scientific Revolutions", in accordance with the principle of "do as I do". In the description of the structure of this doctrine, six main postulates are considered (for example, the division of processes into intrasexual and intersexual selections, the idea of handicap, etc.). ). In subsequent chapters, each of these constructions is analyzed for its compliance or non-compliance with the empirical results obtained in the most representative studies on the topic. Socio-psychological motives of conformism in modern zoology are considered, based on the absence of serious attempts to falsify the hypotheses underlying the analyzed dominant ideas. It is shown that in recent years there has been a tendency to move away from an unshakable belief in the reality of sexual selection. The book contains extensive materials on the organization of sexual relations in a variety of animal groups - from arthropods to mammals.