How do you know what temp to cook meat cuts?

You look in your good basic cookbook in the section on Meats where they will explain how different cuts are cooked, or you google the cut you have and see what the internet says about it. You aren't going to find entire chapters on each cut. That would be ridiculous. Or they'd be very short chapters. Regardless of the cut, there are really only a few ways to cook any meat as far as temperature, how long, and whether it's cooked dry like a roast or in liquid like a pot roast or stew. And recipes say what cuts they are suited for. You don't find recipes that just say "beef" in the ingredients.

Another great source for this Alton Brown on food network, Good Eats is the show and i think he has a website, I enjoy his cooking show because he explains the science behind things which helps me understand what I am doing in the kitchen better. I can not say for sure if he touches on why we cook certain meats at certain temperatures but I am sure he does. As for cookbooks the only really good cookbook's for such a thing are older cookbooks, Betty Crocker 60's and 70's version is the best, you will find tons of the "whys" in it not just the "hows".

Any basic cookbook will have this information.

Generations of home cooks have relied on Betty Crocker's cookbook, which is full of basic recipes and also basic techniques, definitions, and yes, information on cuts of meat and how to cook them.

Your local butcher should be able to help you out, just ask them, he could show you the cuts and advise how best to cook them, you may even learn some recipes!. If not, the internet is your reference book, Go for it!.