Evolutionary Psychology & Self-Understanding

[cybermone]

I would say that imagination is to cultural evolution as mutation is to biological evolution, becuase both generate variation upon which selection can work. Biological evolution could easily lead to processes which engender the imagination if it was adaptive, ie. imagination led to increased survivorship and fecundity. In evolutionary terms it must come down to numbers and ultimately: differential reproduction.

[alowlyapprentice]

Wow, you are a bit worked up.

[alowlyapprentice]

I agree on your point about phonetics represented visually through an alphabet. It was a discovery, uncovering, creative addition to our innate auditory mode of communication.

In almost all ways we evolve now there is a self reference in some way. Culturally as well as physically, with time being the major difference. Our physical impact on our environment is expressed evolutionarily in longer periods of time than our cultural evolution. So the alphabet can be considered a discovery.

[BJ219]

Enjoyed this very much. I'm happy to know you don't think we'll soon end up in Idiocracy, haha.

[thesunshon]

LOVE YOU BROTHER COREY

[anandamide199]

Well spoken. Some people I think are irrationally opposed to EP. I like how you're trying to distinguish the different levels of understanding.

[KenMacMillan]

Evolutionary Psychology-Steven Pinker & Frans de Waal (part I)

watch?v=z3X5AuKE9rg

[soporific1000]

i'd like to hear a lot more about thestuff around 3.30. fascinating stuff. nice vid

[SingleEyeMovement]

I have been checking in with you for a long time now and these are some of the absolute best videos you have had. Perhaps because I have just finished reading Mcluhans Gutenberg and Innis' Empire and Communications that these conversations really hit home for me.

[Professoranton]

@SingleEyeMovement Thanks for the inspiration. Much appreciated.

[detriplea]

Top notch video man. You are definitely developing into my taste.

[Professoranton]

@detriplea Thanks.  Best to you

[tpsisokayiguess]

wtf r u rambling about

[Nebelung13]

He talked of Nihilism both in negative and positive aspects, you are missing my point, Nietzsche saw nihilism in its full aspect and consequences, not just on morality issues. thats why he argued in favour of the ubermensche

Thats what i don't understand , you are able to strip down morality of any value because its subjective, but other objectivly meaningless words seem to be impervious to the same analysis.

[CuriousMoth]

Oh fuck, not this again.

[Fensterplaetzchen]

what does literacy mean in this context?

you don't seem to mean the process of reading but rather the ability to understand a topic from different points of view.(?)

[Professoranton]

@Fensterplaetzchen great call. The alphabet, quite distinct from other forms of writing all which largely served mainly the peoples who used them, was the condition for universal translation of languages.

[Fensterplaetzchen]

I got the point of "the" alphabet in the video, but aren't there more sounds than the once we can type? With the exception of a, e, i, o and u, don't you need more that 21 symbols to construct most sounds of at least the ones you can form human words with.

I think its not so clear which "atomic sounds" make up a sound. For example in italian comics, dogs often say "Bau!", in german comics it's "Wau!". What is it in englisch?

[Professoranton]

@Fensterplaetzchen This would take a long time discussion, but the "grapholect," is the name of the standardization of spelling that made modern dictionaries possible. Spelling has traditionally been more like here on youtube, phonetic but anything but regular. It is not hard to see the rise of barbarism, and people should study the correlations between gang memberships and illiteracy rates.

[Fensterplaetzchen]

woot, lolz. maybe u r right.

Wat is da interwebs doing 2 us!??

[13otany13ay]

One thing that never gets adressed in any evolutionary debate (biological or cultural) is the fact that a feauture does not need to be beneficial for the survival of the species to get passed on. Its sufficient that the feauture (or the lack of it) does not get the individual killed before it can pass it on.

Thats why its often useless to seek for survival value in human actions: Nose-picking has no survival value whatsoever, but it doesnt get us killed either, thus its socially passed on.

[13otany13ay]

continued: Another thing is that to find a certain human practice to be of survival value does not explain it really. Tatoos may increase a natives chance to find a mate, but so would a million other things. So, why tatoos? Why not nose rings? Or chest toupees? Funny hats, a clown nose, stockings, riding on a horse that wears a nose ring, a chest toupee, a funny hat, a clown nose, stockings and has a tatoo on its backside reading: My rider is the coolest pimp in town?

[brokennarcissist]

I remember marking first year papers for philosophy as a TA and there would always be a handful of student that would were incapable of addressing the task being asked of them with each essay.

They simply would write an angry diatribe of surface insights about Darwinian principles. Essentially all they were capable of was regurgitating Dawkins. I'd be less concerned if they were only one student guilt of this.

[MoreSciFiThanScience]

I think evolutionary psychology is incredible but I am also fearful of playing "the explanation game" for every behaviour on the planet.

Im not saying evolutionary psychologists should stop searching for this data in ANY behaviour they so choose, of course not; but the way science commentators present this information to the public is something that requires a deft touch as there is a price attached to these explanations. Im reminded of Southparks "Alcoholism is a disease" episode :)

[invanorm]

Nice rant proffesor :) 5stars for this one. It has taken me up to this clip for me to understand your position, but now that I get it I must say I couldn't agree more. Its astonishing to me that I didn't see it before, its so painfully obvious.

Btw, if I sound sarcastic it's not intentional.

[FatBastardPi]

Recently stumbled across your videos when researching General Semantics, refreshing, to hear one on Youtube speak on a subject in which they have thoroughly done their research. Love your work, very interesting & enriching. Have you authored any books?

[Nebelung13]

Galigual in his video caleld himself a "moral nihilist".

So he equates that because mroality has no objective value ,then it should have no value at all...lol

Moral nihilism is jsut another example of people that didn't outgrew sophism, they cherrypick the whole concept of nihilism, so that it only befalls on the categories they which to attack, so unlike Nietzsche, that embraced nihilism in its complete sense, at elast he had the guts to give logical continuation to the argument of nihilism.

[spawktalk]

@Nebelung13 Wowzers, hes made 3 or 4 vids on it, and instead of watching em you straw-manned :( .

[Nebelung13]

I saw all of them.

I reckon, what i have typed could be flawed on great deal of aspects. However would you be so kind to point it out ?

[spawktalk]

The issue isnt "objective value" its a logical foundation for a moral claim. His position is that one does not exist, or at least doesnt to his knowledge.

Its a find of default skepticism via moral error theory. So unless your going to make an argument for non cognitivism ...

[Nebelung13]

That one does not exist? He was in favour that one should have morality as long he/she knows that its a matter of projection and not of some sort of holy rule.

Thats why he tried to produce his own view of a natural simple moral code for man, this is seen i nseveral of his publications.

Now, what exactly trivializing about Nietzsche as anything to do with my "strawman" you so emotionally pointed out?

[spawktalk]

Wtf, im not talking about nietzsche lmafo.

[Nebelung13]

Even if its about your friend Caligula, it still holds water.

Holding survivability, profit and pragmaticism as the only valueable concepts to be taken, is contraditory. its basically failing to apply the consequences of nihilistical tought to all of the rest just because you are naturally inclined to regard certain values and theories as the best.

[Nebelung13]

Saw the video you are adressing and i think its very proper video response.

I think msot of these people spend a wee bit too much time on youtube and too little living life.

One of the first acts to mark the difference between men and hominid was artistical expression, being a art student i fail to grasp ou is art in its great subjective and esotherical nature explain by evolutionary phantoms?

[Nebelung13]

i've talked to them, they seem to have a purely technocratical view the most times, they equate art with entertainment and i think for one to jump to such conclusions, oneneeds to be either very ignorant or very imature towards the whole issue.

They usually bypass the theme of cognitive psychology because they can't grasp that there is actually a middle ground in between psychoanalysis and evolutionary psycholgy.

[dewinthemorning]

Very, very good speech! I've never thought of that, but now you made me think, and yes, illiteracy is probably coming. Not in a few generations, no, but in a few tens of generations?

[Professoranton]

@dewinthemorning Thanks.