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Ever Forward Radio with Chase Chewning

EFR 804: What is the Purpose of Life? What Evolution and Human Nature Imply About the Meaning of Our Existence with Dr. Samuel Wilkinson

Ever Forward Radio with Chase Chewning

Chase Chewning

Healthcoach, Education, Self-improvement, Mental Health, Wellness, Fitness, Humanoptimization, Resiliency, Holistic, Highperformance, Coaching, Biohack, Health, Military, Entrepreneurship, Mindset, Health & Fitness

5 • 927 Ratings

🗓️ 13 May 2024

⏱️ 64 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This episode is brought to you by Comrad Socks, Legacy, and LMNT.

What is the purpose of life? Does science have any claim to this question? For generations, many have concluded that evolution implies there is no overarching purpose to our existence. Life has no fundamental meaning. We are merely the accumulation of tens of thousands of intricate molecular accidents. Some scientists take this logic one step further: “The fact of evolution is … inherently atheistic… It goes against the notion that there is a God.”

But is this true?

By integrating emerging principles from a variety of scientific disciplines—ranging from evolutionary biology to psychology—Yale Professor Samuel Wilkinson provides a framework of evolution that implies not only that there is an overarching purpose to our existence, but what this purpose is.

Closely related to purpose is meaning. What is the meaning of life? Based on the scientific data, it would seem that one such meaning is to develop deep and abiding relationships. At least that’s what most people report are the most meaningful aspects of their lives. And our relationships that are most meaningful are those with our families, those with whom we share our genes. This is a function of our evolution. It is how we were created.

Follow Chase @chase_chewning

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In this episode we discuss...

(00:00) Evolution, Purpose and Human Nature

(08:22) Blending Science and Religion

(16:11) The Wonders of Evolution and Life

(27:26) Future Evolution of Human Culture

(34:28) Meaning of Human Nature and Life

(44:41) The Importance of Relationships for Happiness

(51:14) Exploring Other Interpretations to the Meaning of Life

(57:47) Importance of Interactions and Ever Forward

(01:02:35) Overcoming Weaknesses and Evolution

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Episode resources:

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About the guest: 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.

Transcript

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0:00.0

The following is an operation podcast production.

0:03.2

Why does this seem to always come down to a religious view and then a scientific view?

0:07.6

Are there the only two camps?

0:09.2

That's a good question.

0:10.2

I've never been asked that question before.

0:12.1

This is an attempt to bring together two topics that at least some in the scientific community had said these can't ever go to get.

0:19.6

You know, you think of evolution as a giant tree tree or at least that's how it's sometimes

0:23.6

portrayed and you have things on very different parts of the tree that

0:27.8

develop the same things independently it's not just in mating and

0:31.5

reproduction again also in selfishness and altruism not just in mating and reproduction,

0:32.6

again also in selfishness and altruism,

0:35.2

in aggression and cooperation, in cruelty and kindness,

0:40.2

there's this duality to our nature.

0:42.8

Evolution has shaped us so that we have both.

0:45.9

This is what I refer to as the dual potential of human nature.

0:49.6

I've used kind of biological terms,

0:51.6

but if you're maybe taking it from another angle,

0:54.0

theological, you would say, good and evil.

0:57.0

And when you combine that with the capacity that we have to choose free will.

1:03.9

To me it seems like life is a test

1:07.6

between the kind of the selfishness and the altruism

1:10.6

within this.

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