DarkHorse Podcast

Monsters, Spotted: The 229th Evolutionary Lens with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying

Jun 12, 2024

Evolutionary biologists Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying discuss empathy, psychopathic behavior in corporations, failures of utopias, and the human need for storytelling. They explore concepts like kin selection, reciprocity, and the importance of narratives in understanding the world.

01:42:43

Episode guests

Heather Heying

Bret Weinstein

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Narrative understanding is vital for human cognition, surpassing rationality.

Utopian ideals fail to satisfy human brain's craving for growth and novelty.

Verisimilitude in narratives ensures coherence and engagement for readers.

Deep dives

The Power and Limitations of Narrative Understanding

Narrative understanding plays a crucial role in how humans make sense of the world, surpassing mere rationality and analysis. The book 'Story Thinking' by Angus Fletcher explores how narrative intelligence is fundamental to human cognition. Plato's tale of Er in 'The Republic' introduces the idea of a static faith in logical analysis, which eventually spreads to various religions and modern ideologies like communism and the singularity. However, Fletcher argues that the biological nature of humans does not align with this static notion, as we inherently seek growth, challenges, and new experiences beyond mere logical dictates.

Corporations - The Evolution Towards Expediency

01:33

Defining Sympathy and Empathy

01:17

Evolution of Language and Precision

01:50

Avoid Overassumptions in Understanding Others' Motivations

01:17

Intro

2min

Exploring CB Distillery's Cannabinoid Products and Discounts

4min

Benefits of Colostrum and Discussion on Momentus Supplements

7min

Exploring Assumptions and Building an Empathy Toolkit

2min

Exploring the Nuances of Empathy and Theory of Mind

17min

Exploring Corporate Personhood, Psychopathy in Corporations, and Regulatory Mechanisms

25min

Exploring Utopias, Story Thinking, and Narrative as Fundamental to Human Sense-Making

3min

Exploring Myth, Storytelling, and Human Behavior

22min

Exploring Narratives and Consciousness

17min

10.

Exploration of Enlightenment, Time, Nature Frustrations, and Sponsored Content

4min

In this 229th in a series of live discussions with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (both PhDs in Biology), we talk about the state of the world through an evolutionary lens.

In this week’s episode, we discuss empathy, sympathy, and theory of mind; corporate personhood, psychopathic behavior, and the limitations of humans; kin selection, and reciprocity, both direct and indirect. Then: utopias, and why they fail, from the hero of Er in Plato’s Republic to the Singularity. And we discuss the human need for story, which exists next to, and perhaps deeper than, our need for analysis and logic.

*****

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*****

Join us on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.com/

Heather’s newsletter, Natural Selections (subscribe to get free weekly essays in your inbox): https://naturalselections.substack.com

Our book, A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century, is available everywhere books are sold, including from Amazon: https://a.co/d/dunx3at

Check out our store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://darkhorsestore.org

*****

Mentioned in this episode:

Lahti and Weinstein 2005. The better angels of our nature: Group stability and the evolution of moral tension. Evolution and Human Behavior, 26(1): 47-63: https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=c5669ae3f2b5ba89967ab466b1095ab9c6d99c8c

DarkHorse Evolutionary Lens #128: Wouldn’t Put It Past ‘Em: https://rumble.com/v4zrlvl-the-228th-evolutionary-lens-with-bret-weinstein-and-heather-heying.html

Angus Fletcher, professor of story science, FAQs: https://www.angusfletcher.co/faqs

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DarkHorse Podcast

Monsters, Spotted: The 229th Evolutionary Lens with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

The Power and Limitations of Narrative Understanding

The Flaw in Utopian Ideals

Verisimilitude and Narrative Coherence

Challenges of Bad Science Fiction in Storytelling

The Importance of Verisimilitude in Narratives and Science

The Role of Storytelling in Human Consciousness and Understanding

Corporations - The Evolution Towards Expediency

Defining Sympathy and Empathy

Evolution of Language and Precision

Avoid Overassumptions in Understanding Others' Motivations

Get the Snipd
podcast app

AI-powered
podcast player

Discover
highlights

Save any
moment

Share
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Discover
highlights

DarkHorse Podcast

Monsters, Spotted: The 229th Evolutionary Lens with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

The Power and Limitations of Narrative Understanding

The Flaw in Utopian Ideals

Verisimilitude and Narrative Coherence

Challenges of Bad Science Fiction in Storytelling

The Importance of Verisimilitude in Narratives and Science

The Role of Storytelling in Human Consciousness and Understanding

Corporations - The Evolution Towards Expediency

Defining Sympathy and Empathy

Evolution of Language and Precision

Avoid Overassumptions in Understanding Others' Motivations

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