Dwarkesh Podcast
Joseph Henrich – Why Humans Survived and Smarter Species Didn't
Mar 12, 2025
Joseph Henrich, a Harvard Professor and author, dives into why humans survived when smarter species didn’t. He discusses how cultural evolution, rather than raw intelligence, played a pivotal role in our success. Henrich reveals intriguing insights on the Catholic Church's unintended impact on the Industrial Revolution by altering kinship systems. Additionally, he explains the decline in human brain size over millennia, linked to our reliance on collective knowledge. Explore how these cultural dynamics shaped human history and innovation!
01:52:59
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Quick takeaways
- Human success relies more on cultural evolution than raw intelligence, emphasizing social networks over individual capabilities for innovation.
- The Catholic Church's dismantling of kinship systems in medieval Europe fostered social mobility, ultimately paving the way for the Industrial Revolution.
Deep dives
The Expansion of Human Populations
Around 70,000 years ago, a significant population expansion occurred in the Near East that led to the dominance of a small group of humans over a range of other species, including Neanderthals and Denisovans. Genetic evidence suggests that despite the assumptions of substantial genetic changes facilitating this expansion, certain technological and social innovations likely played a pivotal role. The expansions, such as the Bantu and Austronesian migrations, demonstrate how connections among populations facilitated the preservation and advancement of complex tools and social networks. This historical context indicates that human progress may have been driven more by cultural rather than purely genetic evolution.
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