David Sloan Wilson: Why Dawkins Got Group Selection Wrong

Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal

Curt Jaimungal

Physics, Philosophy, Society & Culture, Science

4.6 • 606 Ratings

🗓️ 14 December 2020

⏱️ 159 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOE David Sloan Wilson defends group selection theory and examines how memes threaten Western cultural values They explore how evolutionary theory intersects with politics, identity, and culture, and discuss the upcoming documentary Better Left Unsaid.0:00 Introduction1:54 Is "the West" losing its values? What are those values?5:24 Multi-level selection vs. Group Selection11:10 The political right vs left in terms of level of evolutionary selection12:51 Identity Politics framed in terms of group selection (plus a definition of Identity Politics)15:04 Why can't a propitious argument made FOR Identity Politics?20:05 How can we adopt a "whole Earth ethic" as a country, when others don't adopt it?23:47 What do humans need to behave "selflessly" when animals get along with doing so?28:16 Link between evolutionary theory and Buddhism30:00 Humans are built to cooperate in small groups (not large)32:49 We've selected ourselves for timidity38:03 A synoptic view of "This View of Life" and the need for encompassing values38:32 Classical economics (and some contemporary) is wrong and unadaptive40:44 If we've been selected for altruism, why is it difficult?44:54 Carl Jung and selfish acts being unselfish (because they harm you in the long-run)50:24 A $1000 suit isn't to look good, but to look BETTER than the guy with a $500 suit53:00 How good is altruism as a motivational agent for behavior?55:54 Tribalism is the answer, not the problem57:05 Problems with Social Constructionism59:18 Postmodernism and David Sloan Wilson's issues with it1:03:28 Women's studies / LGBTQ studies / etc. utilizing "tribal circuitry"1:06:53 The "Ultimatum Game" in evolutionary psychology1:09:55 On this "tribal circuitry" again1:17:40 On the Nordic countries and the "homogeneity" argument1:23:58 Is communism more adaptive than capitalism?1:28:31 "Tight and loose" compared to totalitarian systems (existential security)1:31:38 Which memes are prius to liberalism?1:36:28 Are the Inuit less adapted than the White Europeans who invented centralized heating?1:42:37 Is virtue as "honesty / forthrightness / generosity" a human universal given most studies are done on Westerners?1:45:10 Is David Sloan Wilson a moral relativist?1:47:38 The effects of arcane disciplines in Universities spreading outward to the culture1:49:47 Evolutionary theory as a unifying language for the disparate fields of science1:54:05 "When does the left go too far?"1:56:18 Memes that last so long they affect our evolution1:57:26 Dawkin's concept of "gene" was problematic, and thus so is "meme"2:00:06 Jordan Peterson vs Susan Blackmore on memes and Jung2:02:10 Chomskyan grammar and Pinker's language instinct is wrong2:04:06 On Victor Huang's "innovation oasis"RESOURCES:- YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3fG96gvgLU- https://twitter.com/David_S_Wilson- http://betterleftunsaidfilm.com Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal features long-form, technically detailed interviews with leading researchers in physics, mathematics, consciousness, and philosophy, exploring topics at the level of active research. For academics, graduate students, and anyone seeking depth beyond popular science. FOLLOW: Substack | Spotify | YouTube | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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1:03.0	A group that functions well, basically, can behave selfishly with respect to whether groups.
1:08.8	You haven't solved the problem of selfishness. You just elevated it to the level of the group where it can take place with more destructive force than ever.
1:18.6	Professor David Sloan Wilson is one of the world's foremost Kanyashentis in evolutionary theory.
1:26.6	He's almost single-handedly responsible
1:28.9	for the resurgence of the idea of group selection, at least he's responsible for the popularization
1:33.6	of it, versus individual selection. Now individual selection was the dominant paradigm of the 20th century.
	...

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