Nature & Nurture

Dr. Joseph Henrich is an anthropologist and Chair of the Human Evolutionary Biology Department at Harvard University, where he runs the Culture, Cognition, and Coevolution Lab. Joe is also the author of the WEIRDest People in the World and The Secret of Our Success.
Timestamps:
0:00:46 Environmental factors leading to cultural evolution
0:03:19 Cultural adaptations, rituals, and technological advancements
0:05:11 Cultural adaptations operating outside of conscious awareness
0:07:04 The role of religion in cultural transformations
0:09:40 Impact of religious prohibitions on social ties
0:10:59 Exploring the spread of monotheistic religions
0:12:01 The expansion of gods and competition among groups
0:13:55 Transition to monotheism and personification of social awareness
0:16:18 Intergroup competition and tension between small and large group cooperation
0:17:37 Individualistic guilt vs collectivist shame
0:19:18 Variation in use of mental state terms in folktales
0:23:00 Patterns in cooperation and moral judgment from human nature and cultural evolution
0:24:44 Cultural evolution and species differences
0:25:56 Intersection of biology and culture in sex and gender differences
0:26:24 Culture changes our biology and brain
0:28:28 Male inclination towards violence observed in every human society
0:29:50 Testosterone levels and aggression linked to social hierarchy
0:30:28 Gender paradox: greater gender equality, bigger personality/morality differences
0:32:06 Sex differences observed in primates
0:35:15 Fathering dynamics in human societies
0:37:26 Genetic fitness and hunter-gatherer societies
0:41:28 Sex ratio, crime rates, and marriage markets
[0:43:32 Dating apps, competition, and inequality
0:46:14 Zero sum games, land, and cultural differences
0:53:18 Demographic changes and the impact on parenting styles.
0:55:07 Adversity-exposed brain and its relation to life history theory.
0:57:37 Using surname diversity as a proxy for diversity of thought and experience in a society.
1:01:50 Linking surname diversity to occupational diversity, trust, and innovation
1:04:32 Christianity's impact on scientific revolution and analytic thinking
1:06:11 Bias towards progress and the concept of progress emerging
___________________________________________
cultural evolution, human history, cultural norms, cultural adaptations, cultural diversity, cultural transmission, cultural package, cultural evolution theory, cultural beliefs, cultural changes, cultural brain hypothesis, cultural differences, cultural learning, cultural inheritance, cultural brain, cultural evolution and biology, cultural evolution and genetics, cultural evolution and natural selection, cultural evolution and memetic evolution, cultural evolution and intentionality, cultural evolution and intention, cultural evolution and religion, cultural evolution and rituals, cultural evolution and mental states, cultural evolution and gender differences, cultural evolution and sex differences, cultural evolution and sex roles, cultural evolution and marriage, cultural evolution and monogamy, cultural evolution and polygamy, cultural evolution and violence, cultural evolution and competition, cultural evolution and cooperation, cultural evolution and morality, cultural evolution and guilt, cultural evolution and shame, cultural evolution and archetypes, cultural evolution and natural laws, cultural evolution and game theory, cultural evolution and population dynamics, cultural evolution and sex ratio, cultural evolution and attractiveness, cultural evolution and dating apps, cultural evolution and surname diversity, cultural evolution and diversity of thought, cultural evolution and adversity exposed brain, cultural evolution and life history theory, cultural evolution and creativity, cultural evolution and patents, cultural evolution and breakthrough patents, cultural evolution and surname diversity, cultural evolution and trust, cultural evolution and moral universalism, cultural evolution and surname diversity and patents, cultural evolution and Latin text analysis, cultural evolution and diversity of authors, cultural evolution and expansion of Roman Empire

[@MooseheadStudios]

Great interview. Joe is a gem

[@hinteregions]

Unusually lucid and concise, thank you. This situating of our odd evolution between ice ages, the idea of necessary stability, I had not thought about. And interviewer, I like that 'personification of the watchful eye,' it ties in nicely with my 'panopticon' notion of woke's 'decentralised totalitarianism.' I have to recommend to all here as highly relevant Prof. Dennis Dutton's talk, on TED, An Evolutionary Theory of Beauty.

[@realityTV77]

Always I have believed that nature overrides nature.