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Dr. Steve Stewart-Williams is Associate Professor of Psychology at Nottingham University Malaysia Campus. His research revolves around the idea that theories from evolutionary biology can shed light on human psychology. In particular, he’s interested in the evolutionary origins of altruistic behavior and human sex differences. He also has a long-standing interest in the philosophical implications of evolutionary theory. He’s also the author of the books Darwin, God and the Meaning of Life (2010) and The Ape That Understood the Universe (2018).
In this episode, our conversation centers on some of the main topics of Dr. Stewart-Williams’ most recent book, The Ape That Understood the Universe. We first go through some of the basics of modern evolutionary theory and evolutionary biology, like units and levels of selection, and sexual selection, and also establish the relationship between biology and culture at the same time. Then, we discuss the origins of sex differences, and psychological traits as part of our phenotype. We also refer to the problem with using the term “gender” in science. We then talk about the model MMC (Mutual Mate Choice) in human sexual selection, and if there is any preferred mating system in human societies, like monogamy or polygamy. Toward the end, we talk about the evolutionary mismatch between our ancestral environments and our modern industrialized scientific societies, and how to approach the study of religion from a biological/evolutionary standpoint.
Time Links:
00:55 Units and levels of selection in evolution
09:39 Biological and cultural evolution
13:09 How to think about culture
23:19 Sexual selection
27:29 Where to start off from to understand the origins of sex differences
34:59 The problem with the term “gender”
42:30 The flaws with pure sociological or sociocultural approaches to psychological sex differences
45:17 Cultures do not vary randomly
48:05 About the MCFC (Males Compete Females Choose) and MMC (Mutual Mate Choice) models of sexual selection
52:14 Is there any preferred mating system in human societies (monogamy, polygamy)?
55:55 Evolutionary mismatch between our ancestral environments and the modern ones
1:00:35 How to properly study religion as a human phenomenon
1:09:31 “Culture might influence our behavior a bit, but it never conjures things up, nor is the origin of them”
1:11:05 Follow Dr. Stewart-Williams’ work!
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Follow Dr. Stewart-Williams’ work:
Faculty page: tinyurl.com/yda8fu6f
Personal website: www.stevestewartwilliams.com/
Darwin, God and the Meaning of Life: tinyurl.com/yb9xk9zu
The Ape That Understood the Universe: tinyurl.com/y9ar3cqa
Articles on Researchgate: tinyurl.com/y9n8qldt
Twitter handle: @SteveStuWill
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A SPECIAL THANKS TO MY FIRST PRODUCER, Yzar Wehbe!
I also leave you with the link to a recent montage video I did with the interviews I have released until the end of June 2018:
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