Can Faith and Evolution Coexist?
The Jon Gordon Podcast
Jon Gordon
4.8 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 8 August 2025
⏱️ 49 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On this episode of The Jon Gordon Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Samuel Wilkinson from Yale for a truly fascinating and thought-provoking conversation about the intersection of science, faith, and evolution. Dr. Wilkinson shares the journey that inspired his book, Purpose: What Evolution and Human Nature Imply About the Meaning of Our Existence, and together we dig into some of life’s deepest questions: Can science and spirituality really go hand in hand? How do evolution and faith both help shape our understanding of human purpose?
We unpack everything from the “dual potential” within human nature, our capacities for both selfishness and sacrificial love, to the mysteries of free will, consciousness, and whether our brains are actually wired to tune into higher frequencies like love, positivity, and connection. We also challenge some big assumptions about the origins of humanity, what really drives our instinct to help others (even at great personal cost), and why strong family bonds are central to both our biology and our society.
If you’ve ever wondered how science and spirituality might fit together, or questioned whether there’s purpose woven into the process of evolution, this conversation is going to open your mind and encourage your spirit. Don’t miss it!
About Dr. Samuel Wilkinson,
Samuel T. Wilkinson is Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Yale University, where he also serves as Associate Director of the Yale Depression Research Program. He received his MD from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. His articles have been featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal. He has been the recipient of many awards, including Top Advancements & Breakthroughs from the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation; Top Ten Psychiatry Papers by the New England Journal of Medicine, the Samuel Novey Writing Prize in Psychological Medicine ( Johns Hopkins); the Thomas Detre Award (Yale University); and the Seymour Lustman Award (Yale University).
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the John Gordon podcast, where we share John's interviews with guests, as well as key strategies and lessons from his keynotes, coaching, and more. |
| 0:09.0 | We want to encourage you to check out John Gordoncertified.com if you're interested in growing as a leader, coach, speaker, or trainer. |
| 0:15.6 | When you get certified, you'll be able to teach, coach, and train others on John's most impactful mindset, leadership, |
| 0:21.1 | and teamwork principles. |
| 0:22.5 | For more information, visit john gordoncertified.com. |
| 0:25.5 | That's J-O-N-Gordon certified.com. |
| 0:28.5 | Now let's jump in to today's episode. |
| 0:31.4 | Hey, this is John Gordon with the John Gordon podcast. |
| 0:34.5 | And today, my guest is Dr. Samuel Wilkinson. |
| 0:38.8 | I'll call you Sam. |
| 0:39.8 | Sam, how you doing? |
| 0:41.4 | Doing a while, thanks. |
| 0:43.2 | Good to be here and thanks for having me on your show. |
| 0:46.4 | It's great to have you on this show. |
| 0:48.5 | What intrigued me about wanting to do this podcast with you |
| 0:52.3 | when I saw it come by, I get emails and requests all the time. |
| 0:56.5 | And I usually turn down about 98% of them. |
| 0:58.9 | But what intrigue me about what you're talking about is the converging of science and faith. |
| 1:05.5 | And you say that they actually go hand in hand. |
| 1:09.0 | Can you talk about that? |
| 1:10.5 | Yeah, I'd be happy to. |
| 1:11.6 | So I wrote a book that came out a little bit ago that shares kind of my thoughts on this. |
... |
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