502. Angry and Red: Color as Emotion | Mark Changizi
Nov 28, 2024
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Mark Changizi, an evolutionary biology theorist and researcher, dives into the fascinating links between color vision and emotional communication. He explains how our perception of color evolved as a tool for social interaction, helping primates detect emotions like anger or embarrassment. The discussion also covers the impact of color on societal behaviors, mass hysteria, and how online anonymity can polarize discourse. Additionally, Changizi examines how these biological traits shape our identities and relationships in both personal and digital realms.
Mark Changizi's theory suggests that human color vision evolved to help us perceive emotional signals, enhancing social interactions.
The podcast examines the opposition faced by evolutionary biologists regarding discussions of purpose in evolution, influenced by political ideologies.
Understanding visual perception is crucial to evolutionary psychology, revealing insights into how mechanisms facilitate survival and social dynamics.
The evolution of language is connected to our innate emotional expressions, indicating a deep relationship between emotion and communication.
Deep dives
Introduction of New Book and Tour
The speaker announces the release of his new book, titled 'We Who Wrestle with God, Perceptions of the Divine,' which achieved number one on Amazon shortly after its release. The book serves as the foundation for a lecture tour that will take place from November through April, where he aims to explore high-level abstract ideas found in biblical stories. The goal is to bridge the gap between abstraction and reality so that attendees can implement the principles discussed into their daily lives for tangible improvements. Information about the tour can be found on the speaker's official website.
Discussion with Mark Canghizi
The speaker engages in a conversation with Mark Canghizi, an author and expert in evolutionary biology and psychology. Their discussion centers around subjects such as perception, emotion, language, and group behavior, emphasizing the role of evolved traits. One particularly intriguing hypothesis brought up is Canghizi's unique theory on the evolution of color vision, suggesting it developed not just for detecting ripe fruits but also for recognizing emotional signals in others through variations in skin tone. This hint at emotional communication underscores the importance of perception in social interactions.
The Role of Perception in Evolutionary Biology
Canghizi shares his extensive background in vision and cognitive science and discusses how understanding visual perception is crucial for exploring evolutionary psychology. He highlights that studying functional design can reveal insights into why certain traits evolved the way they did. This notion of studying design elements is met with resistance in some scientific communities, where arguments for purpose and function are often dismissed as mere 'just-so' stories. The speaker and Canghizi reflect on how this opposition impacts discussions around natural selection and evolutionary mechanisms.
Challenges in Discussing Evolutionary Purpose
The conversation touches on the challenges evolutionary biologists face when addressing teleology or purpose within their research. The speaker notes that the rejection of purpose often stems from political ideologies favoring radical social constructionism, which insists that human nature is entirely malleable. This ideological stance, he argues, creates a competitive dynamic in academia and distorts the understanding of instinct and purpose in human and animal behaviors. Such resistance, they conclude, undermines the scientific exploration of how evolution shapes both physical and psychological traits.
Visual Perception and Its Underlying Mechanics
The exploration of visual perception leads to an examination of how our brains are wired for recognizing objects and motion in our environment. Canghizi discusses how biological systems exhibit functional designs that facilitate our understanding of the world around us. He cites examples from evolutionary biology that illustrate how specific mechanisms serve broader functions necessary for survival and social interaction. This functional approach presents a strong case for why understanding the mechanics behind perception is essential for comprehending human evolution.
Color Vision: An Empathic Sense
Canghizi proposes that human color vision has evolved primarily to enhance our ability to perceive emotions and health in others. He discusses the significance of detecting variations in skin color that indicate emotional states, such as blushes from embarrassment or anger. This theory suggests that our perception of color is not merely a tool for identifying objects but serves a deeper social function in interpreting the well-being of those around us. Understanding these empathetic cues, he argues, is crucial for navigating social dynamics and relationships.
The Evolution of Language and Communication
The duo shifts their focus to the evolution of language, positing that language itself is a complex cultural construct built on our innate emotional expressions. They explore how early forms of communication likely drew from our understanding of emotions as signaling mechanisms in social contexts. This foundational layer of emotion informs language's structure and use, as well as how we convey and interpret meaning. The evolution of language, they agree, is indicative of our social nature and reflects our capacity for complex thought and expression.
Jordan Peterson sits down with theorist and researcher Mark Changizi. They discuss the biological reasons for mass hysteria on the societal level, why we evolved to have color vision, and how we understand and interpret the patterns of the natural world.
Mark Changizi is a theorist aiming to grasp the ultimate foundations underlying why we think, feel, and see as we do. He attended the University of Virginia for a degree in physics and mathematics, and to the University of Maryland for a PhD in math. In 2002, he won a prestigious Sloan-Swartz Fellowship in Theoretical Neurobiology at Caltech, and in 2007, he became an assistant professor in the Department of Cognitive Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In 2010, he took the post of Director of Human Cognition at a new research institute called 2ai Labs and also co-founded VINO Optics, which builds proprietary vein-enhancing glasses for medical personnel. He consults out of his Human Factory Lab.
He curated an exhibition and co-authored a (fourth) book — “On the Origin of Art” (2016) by Steven Pinker, Geoffrey Miller, Brian Boyd, and Mark Changizi — at MONA museum in Tasmania in 2016, illustrating his “nature-harnessing” theory on the origins of art and language.
This episode was filmed on November 22, 2024
| Links |
For Mark Changizi:
On X https://x.com/MarkChangizi/highlights
On YouTube https://www.youtube.com/c/markchangizi
Website https://www.changizi.com/?_sm_nck=1
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