

#1195
Mentioned in 19 episodes
The Mating Mind
How Sexual Choice Shaped the Evolution of Human Nature
Book • 2000
In 'The Mating Mind,' Geoffrey Miller proposes that the human mind evolved not just as a survival machine but as a courtship machine.
He argues that many of the distinctive human traits, such as language, art, music, and morality, were developed as fitness indicators and sexual attractors.
Miller draws on Darwin's theory of sexual selection and integrates ideas from psychology, economics, history, and pop culture to explain how these traits were shaped by the sexual choices of our ancestors.
The book suggests that once language evolved, thought itself became subject to sexual selection, and that human courtship is a primary driving force behind human evolution.
He argues that many of the distinctive human traits, such as language, art, music, and morality, were developed as fitness indicators and sexual attractors.
Miller draws on Darwin's theory of sexual selection and integrates ideas from psychology, economics, history, and pop culture to explain how these traits were shaped by the sexual choices of our ancestors.
The book suggests that once language evolved, thought itself became subject to sexual selection, and that human courtship is a primary driving force behind human evolution.
Mentioned by





















Mentioned in 19 episodes
Mentioned by 

in the context of signaling and self-advertisement in human behavior.


Rory Sutherland

1,294 snips
Rory Sutherland
Mentioned by 

as a case of someone actually getting a bang on the money.


Rory Sutherland

1,035 snips
#973 - Rory Sutherland - Waymo, Texas Culture, Airline Lounges, OpenAI & Uber Eats
Mentioned by 

as a game-changing book on evolutionary psychology and sexual selection.


Rory Sutherland

448 snips
Rory Sutherland: The Psychology of Advertising
Mentioned by 

as a book that proposes the human brain as a sexually selected feature.


Matt Ridley

350 snips
#923 - Matt Ridley - Why Evolution Favours Beauty Over Survival
Mentioned by 

as a book that argues that the human brain exploded in size because of sexual selection.


Matt Ridley

61 snips
Net Zero Must Go - Matt Ridley
Mentioned by 

as an evolutionary psychology book.


Chris Williamson

57 snips
#574 - 600k Q&A - Masculinity Crisis, Overrated Thinkers & Lex Fridman
Mentioned by 

as an evolutionary biologist who proposed a theory about the evolution of the human mind.


Matt Ridley

50 snips
Ideas Having Sex: How Money & Language Evolve Civilization w/ Matt Ridley (WiM574)
Mentioned by 

when discussing human behavior and advertising.


Rory Sutherland

44 snips
Is It Ever OK to Promote Fossil Fuels? Ep186: Rory Sutherland
Mentioned by 

in relation to the mating mind.


Michael Shermer

42 snips
Sex and Beauty: The Extraordinary Implications of Darwin’s Strangest Idea (Matt Ridley)
Mentioned by 

as the author who suggested that language evolved for seduction purposes.


Nicholas Humphrey

38 snips
EP 311 Nicholas Humphrey on the Invention of Consciousness
Mentioned by 

as one of ![undefined]()

's books.


Chris Williamson

Geoffrey Miller

34 snips
#432 - Geoffrey Miller - An Evolutionary Psychologist's Dating Advice
Mentioned by ![undefined]()

as his first book analyzing how sexual selection through mate choice shaped human evolution.

Geoffrey Miller

30 snips
Can Modern Societies Reproduce Themselves? | Guest: Geoffrey Miller | 7/25/25
Mentioned by 

in the context of evolutionary psychology and mating dynamics.


Chris Williamson

29 snips
#421 - Hamza - How Men Can Survive The Modern Dating World
Mentioned by ![undefined]()

as one of his books.

Geoffrey Miller

24 snips
Is evolutionary psychology just a bunch of "just so" stories? (with Geoffrey Miller)
Mentioned by 

in relation to sexual selection and its role in brain evolution.


Richard Dawkins

23 snips
Are Science’s Greatest Achievements Helpful or Holding You Back? | Richard Dawkins (Archived Episode)
Mentioned by 

in relation to the concept of sexual selection and its role in human evolution.


Paul Bloom

Mysteries of the mind
Mentioned by 

in relation to the evolution of the human brain and sexual selection.


Matt Ridley

Dr. Matt Ridley - Birds, Sex & Beauty - Charles Darwin's Strangest Idea (The Saad Truth with Dr. Saad_812)
Mentioned by David Lundberg-Kenrick as a book discussing the mating mind.

#515 - David & Douglas Kenrick - Evolved Psychology Vs The Modern World
Mentioned by 

in relation to his hypothesis about creativity and sexual selection.


Scott Barry Kaufman

177. Intimations of Creativity | Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman
Mentioned by 

at the end of the podcast as one of ![undefined]()

's books.


Francis Foster

Geoffrey Miller

Geoffrey Miller on Sex Differences, Masculinity & Political Polarisation