Why Evolutionary Psychology Can’t Explain Heroism

Intelligent Design the Future

Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture

Science, Philosophy, Astronomy, Society & Culture, Life Sciences

4 • 993 Ratings

🗓️ 17 September 2025

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

If evolutionary psychology explains every complex human behavior as well as its opposite, does it really explain anything? Today, host Andrew McDiarmid concludes his conversation with geologist and attorney Dr. Casey Luskin about which scientific theory of origins best explains human altruism, cooperation, and morality. McDiarmid recently engaged in some lively discussion under his recent article exploring scientific worldview in the Marvel universe. Specifically, some readers claimed evolution can explain human kindness, heroism, and teamwork. So McDiarmid turned to Luskin, who has spent time researching human origins as well as attempts to explain the origin of human behaviors. Here in Part 2, the pair zoom into altruism to see if evolution can adequately explain it. This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation. Source

Transcript

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0:00.0	And according to Dawkins, we evolved and we evolved to pass on our genes, nothing more and nothing less.
0:07.4	It's difficult to imagine, Andrew, a more materialistic message from a science museum being promoted to young children.
0:14.0	And yet this really is the message that we are just, quote unquote, survival machines that have been blindly programmed by our selfish
0:22.4	genes to survive and reproduce.
0:28.6	ID, the Future, a podcast about evolution and intelligent design.
0:35.8	Can evolution explain the origin and existence of complex human behaviors, like regard
0:41.4	for others or altruism, as well as cooperation and even morality? Hey everyone, Andrew McDermott
0:48.0	here, host of ID the Future. We explore on this podcast the growing evidence for intelligent
0:53.0	design and the debate over evolution.
0:55.9	Well, today I continue my discussion with Dr. Casey Luskin about these questions.
1:00.7	Luskin is Associate Director of Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture.
1:05.1	He holds a PhD in geology from the University of Johannesburg, as well as graduate degrees in science and law,
1:11.7	giving him expertise in both the scientific and legal dimensions of the debate over evolution.
1:17.2	Dr. Luskin has been a California licensed attorney since 2005,
1:21.1	practicing primarily in the area of evolution education in public schools,
1:25.0	as well as defending academic freedom for scientists who face
1:28.6	discrimination because of their support for intelligent design. Now, in part one, Casey and I started
1:34.4	off with several arguments critiquing the field of evolutionary psychology, a branch of psychology
1:40.0	that assumes all human behavior can be explained as evolutionary adaptations developed in the
1:45.6	prehistoric past. Casey reveals the weaknesses of such an approach to human psychology and behavior.
1:51.7	And then we started zooming into altruism, in particular, to ask whether evil psych, as it's known,
1:57.7	can adequately explain our acts of sacrifice, our regard for others,
	...

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