#54 Robin Hanson: The Elephant in the Brain, Selfishness and Prosociality, Social Progress

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Dr. Robin Hanson is an Associate Professor of Economics at George Mason University and a research associate at the Future of Humanity Institute of Oxford University. He’s also the author of books like The Age of Em, and The Elephant in the Brain.

In this episode, the conversation centers around the book The Elephant in the Brain. We talk about subconscious motivations; selfishness and prosociality; rationalizations; strong and weak social norms; personality variability and hidden motivations; conspicuous consumption; prestige status; bragging and self-esteem; costly signaling; self-deception; the social role of laughter; the limits of comedy; the social importance of gossip; the prosociality of nepotism; the social aspects of advertising; art and conspicuous signaling; charity, waste, and effective altruism; the social value of education; conspicuous effort and waste in medicine; the narrative of the self; enlightened self-interest; being humble; individual vs collective change; niche communities; capitalism and social progress; and related topics.

Time Links:

00:36 The elephant in the brain

02:30 Evolutionary perspectives on hidden motives

04:43 The Dissenter strikes back on disagreeable ends

08:04 Rationalizations

10:02 Selfishness and prosociality

12:49 We can get away with violating weak norms

14:11 Bragging about positive motivations

17:58 Adding personality variability to the picture

21:05 Conspicuous consumption

23:25 Signaling positive personality traits through material means

25:08 Prestige status

27:21 – Bragging and self-esteem

30:00 The drawbacks of costly signaling

31:25 Self-deception

33:22 The interpreter module

34:53 Norms as rationalizations

36:11 The social role of laughter

44:20 The limits of comedy

50:45 The social importance of gossip

55:26 The prosociality of nepotism

57:08  The social aspects of advertising

1:03:18 Art and conspicuous signaling

1:09:28 Charity, waste, and effective altruism

1:18:03 The social value of education

1:27:53 Thought experiment on a society of inconspicuous consumption

1:30:51 Conspicuous effort and waste in medicine

1:40:56 Reactions to the book

1:46:25 The narrative of the self

1:49:44 Enlightened self-interest

1:52:41 Being humble

1:57:56 Balance between subconscious drives and exerting control over them

2:04:27 Individual vs collective change

2:16:57 Niche communities

2:21:43 Modern life and personal identity

2:26:10 Capitalism and social progress

2:31:10 Where can you follow Dr. Hanson’s work?  

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O Dr. Robin Hanson é um Professor Associado de Economia da George Mason University e um investigador associado do Future of Humanity Institute da Universidade de Oxford. É também o autor de livros como The Age of Em, e The Elephant in the Brain.

Neste episódio, a conversa é centrada no livro The Elephant in the Brain. Falamos sobre motivações subconscientes; egoísmo e prossocialidade; racionalizações; normas sociais fortes e fracas; variabilidade de personalidade e motivações escondidas; consumo conspícuo; status de prestígio; relação entre gabarolice e autoestima; sinalização dispendiosa; autodeceção; o papel social do riso; os limites da comédia; a importância social da fofoquice; a prossocialidade do nepotismo; os aspetos sociais da publicidade; arte e sinalizaç