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The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast

270. Deception and Psychopathy | Robert Trivers

The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast

DailyWire+

Education, Science, Society & Culture

4.634.5K Ratings

🗓️ 14 July 2022

⏱️ 78 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Robert Trivers is an American evolutionary biologist and sociobiologist. He proposed the theory of Reciprocal Altruism, in a paper that he published in 1971, linked below. Trivers was awarded the 2007 Crafoord Prize in Biosciences for analysis and contributions to the theory of social evolution, conflict, and cooperation. In this episode, Robert Trivers and I talk about reciprocal altruism, deception and self-deception as adaptive strategies, genuine victims and reducing vulnerability, and much more. —Links— Read Robert Trivers' Paper: https://roberttrivers.com/Publications_files/Trivers%201971.pdf Read Robert Trivers' books: https://roberttrivers.com/Books.html Read Robert Trivers' Other Publications: https://roberttrivers.com/Publications.html Follow Robert Trivers on Twitter: https://twitter.com/triversrobert —Chapters— [0:00] Intro [1:50] Reciprocal Altruism [9:41] Why Focus On Morality Issues? [12:34] Reciprocal Altruism and Society [16:35] Robert Trivers' First Paper and Initial Research [19:13] Competition and Cooperation [20:22] Deception and Self-Deception [22:57] Cues of Deception [23:41] Robert Trivers' Loss of Short Term Memory [25:05] An Example of Passive Self-Deception [33:41] The Complexity of Confrontation [35:48] The Danger of Undermining a Core Belief [37:51] How Depressive Thinking Cascades [39:00] Thoughts on Suicide and Prison [43:43] Crafting a Deception [47:20] There Is No Decent Place to Stand in a Massacre [48:16] Genuine Victims and Reducing Vulnerability [52:24] Distinguishing Competence from Power [56:11] Self-Deception as an Adaptive Strategy [58:47] Is there an Optimal Strategy? [59:56] Female Selection [1:03:27] Mimicry as a Form of Deception [1:11:06] Defining a Narcissist [1:12:55] Psychopathy in the General Population [1:18:45] Rivers' Thoughts on Donald Trump [1:29:08] Nepotism and Psychopathy [1:32:24] The Biological Evolution of Homosexuality [1:37:27] Homophobia and Homosexual Arousal [1:39:06] Defining a Narcissist, Revisited [1:41:10] Manic Excitability [1:45:29] Closing Comments #roberttrivers #reciprocalaltruism #biology #jordanpeterson #evolutionarybiology #deception // SUPPORT THIS CHANNEL // Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/jordanbpeterson.co... Donations: https://jordanbpeterson.com/donate // COURSES // Discovering Personality: https://jordanbpeterson.com/personality Self Authoring Suite: https://selfauthoring.com Understand Myself (personality test): https://understandmyself.com // BOOKS // Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life: https://jordanbpeterson.com/Beyond-Order 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos: https://jordanbpeterson.com/12-rules-... Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief: https://jordanbpeterson.com/maps-of-m... // LINKS // Website: https://jordanbpeterson.com Events: https://jordanbpeterson.com/events Blog: https://jordanbpeterson.com/blog Podcast: https://jordanbpeterson.com/podcast // SOCIAL // Twitter: https://twitter.com/jordanbpeterson Instagram: https://instagram.com/jordan.b.peterson Facebook: https://facebook.com/drjordanpeterson Telegram: https://t.me/DrJordanPeterson All socials: https://linktr.ee/drjordanbpeterson #JordanPeterson #JordanBPeterson #DrJordanPeterson #DrJordanBPeterson #DailyWirePlus #Psychology #Biology #RobertTrivers #EvolutionaryBiology #Deception #SelfDeception

Transcript

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0:00.0

Welcome to episode 270 of the Jordan B. Peterson Podcast. I'm Michaela Peterson.

0:06.0

In this episode, Dad spoke with the American evolutionary biologist Robert Trevers.

0:11.5

In 1971, Trevers proposed the theory known as reciprocal altruism, which is perhaps his

0:17.5

most well-known theory in a paper he published. Since that time, he's published numerous articles

0:22.4

essays and books. He was awarded the 2007 Crawford Prize in Bio Sciences for his analysis and

0:28.8

contributions to the theory of social evolution, conflict and cooperation.

0:33.9

Among his contributions is his explanation of self-deception as an adaptive evolutionary strategy,

0:40.5

which is the focus of some of this episode, which is fun. Robert and Dad also talked about

0:45.0

genuine victims and reducing vulnerability, reciprocal altruism, the danger of undermining

0:50.2

and core belief and more. Thank you for listening and enjoy the episode.

1:07.6

Hello everyone. I'm pleased today to have with me Dr. Robert Trevers. Dr. Trevers is an

1:12.7

evolutionary biologist who concentrates on social theory based on natural selection

1:17.9

and on evolutionary genetics. These happen to be the backbones of all biology. His early work

1:24.0

focused on reciprocal altruism, which we will talk about in some detail today, the evolution of

1:29.6

sex differences in all species, the sex ratio at birth, parent offspring conflict, kinship and

1:36.0

sex ratio and social insects, and the theory and the theory outlining the nature of self-deception

1:42.2

and its operation in the service of deceit, which in itself can confer, however, temporarily, certain

1:48.5

advantages. He then devoted 15 years of his life with Austin Bert to reviewing the vast topic of

1:55.2

selfish genetic elements in all species, except bacteria and viruses. These are genes that do not

2:01.2

benefit the individual with the genes, but spread because they have a within individual selective

2:06.3

advantage. In 2011, he published a popular book, Deceit and Self Deception, fooling yourself

2:13.9

the better to fool others, published in the US as the folly of fools. It's been translated into

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