#344 Joseph Henrich: Cultural Evolution, Human Cooperation, and WEIRD Psychology

Jun 19, 2020

Dr. Joseph Henrich discusses integrating social sciences, biases in cultural transmission, and evolution of human cooperation. They delve into prosocial behavior, societal scaling, and cultural influences on genetic development. The conversation challenges traditional views on IQ and explores the concept of WEIRD psychology in Western societies.

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INSIGHT

Integrating Multiple Disciplines

Different disciplines like anthropology, sociology, and economics approach human behavior with distinct assumptions and methods.
Integrating these fields can provide a richer understanding than sticking to one perspective.

INSIGHT

Natural Selection Shapes Cultural Learning

Cultural evolution relies on evolved mental mechanisms shaped by natural selection to learn from others.
These learning biases build a culturally constructed world that, in turn, influences genetic evolution.

INSIGHT

Universality of Learning Biases

Some biases in social learning appear universal, observable even in young children and some non-human animals.
This suggests these biases are reliably acquired psychological features shaped by evolution.

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Dr. Joseph Henrich is Professor and chair of The Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. He is interested in the question of how humans evolved from "being a relatively unremarkable primate a few million years ago to the most successful species on the globe", and how culture affected our genetic development. He is also the author of The Secret of Our Success and The WEIRDest People in World.

In this episode, we talk about some of the main topics in Dr. Henrich’s vast and interdisciplinary work. We first discuss the trouble with trying to integrate knowledge from different social sciences. Then, we talk about biases in cultural transmission, and genetic and cultural evolution. We also discuss the evolution of human cooperation, how societies scaled up, and the role of prosocial religions and Big Gods. We also talk about the Cultural Brain Hypothesis, collective intelligence, and a cultural evolutionary take on IQ. We characterize WEIRD psychology, comment a bit on Cecilia Heyes’ take on cultural evolutionary theory, and finally get Dr. Henrich’s take on group selection.

A HUGE THANK YOU TO MY PATRONS/SUPPORTERS: KARIN LIETZCKE, ANN BLANCHETTE, PER HELGE LARSEN, LAU GUERREIRO, JERRY MULLER, HANS FREDRIK SUNDE, BERNARDO SEIXAS, HERBERT GINTIS, RUTGER VOS, RICARDO VLADIMIRO, BO WINEGARD, CRAIG HEALY, OLAF ALEX, PHILIP KURIAN, JONATHAN VISSER, DAVID DIAS, ANJAN KATTA, JAKOB KLINKBY, ADAM KESSEL, MATTHEW WHITINGBIRD, ARNAUD WOLFF, TIM HOLLOSY, HENRIK AHLENIUS, JOHN CONNORS, PAULINA BARREN, FILIP FORS CONNOLLY, DAN DEMETRIOU, ROBERT WINDHAGER, RUI INACIO, ARTHUR KOH, ZOOP, MARCO NEVES, MAX BEILBY, COLIN HOLBROOK, SUSAN PINKER, THOMAS TRUMBLE, PABLO SANTURBANO, SIMON COLUMBUS, PHIL KAVANAGH, JORGE ESPINHA, CORY CLARK, MARK BLYTH, ROBERTO INGUANZO, MIKKEL STORMYR, ERIC NEURMANN, SAMUEL ANDREEFF, FRANCIS FORDE, TIAGO NUNES, BERNARD HUGUENEY, ALEXANDER DANNBAUER, OMARI HICKSON, PHYLICIA STEVENS, FERGAL CUSSEN, YEVHEN BODRENKO, HAL HERZOG, NUNO MACHADO, DON ROSS, JOÃO ALVES DA SILVA, JONATHAN LEIBRANT, JOÃO LINHARES, OZLEM BULUT, NATHAN NGUYEN, STANTON T, SAMUEL CORREA, ERIK HAINES, MARK SMITH, J.W., JOÃO EIRA, TOM HUMMEL, SARDUS FRANCE, AND DAVID SLOAN WILSON!

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