The denial of death and what’s missing from Becker’s analysis

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Are humans really just trying to get laid? According to a discussion on mating strategies, it's a factor but not the sole motivation behind building castles, bridges, and civilizations. The desire for immortality through a lasting legacy could be the driving force, especially for men looking to affect their lineage.

David Buss is an evolutionary psychologist at UT Austin. He is one of the founders of the field of evolutionary psychology. His current research is on sex differences in mate selection, mate attraction, infidelity, and the emotions of jealousy, lust, and love. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
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OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(08:04) – Sex vs Violence
(14:48) – Mating strategies
(26:44) – Social construct of beauty
(30:38) – Evolution of mating evaluation
(34:40) – Mating selection desires
(39:52) – Difficulties of monogamy
(46:16) – Importance of male appearance
(48:52) – Importance of wealth
(52:08) – Penis and breasts
(55:59) – Fashion
(58:58) – Body objectification
(1:06:33) – Wear sunscreen
(1:13:29) – Gender
(1:30:39) – What motivates humans
(1:32:29) – Dominance and submissiveness
(1:40:33) – Johnny Depp defamation trial
(1:50:24) – Jealousy
(1:58:45) – Mate poaching
(2:02:58) – Polyamory
(2:14:13) – Female vs Male sexuality
(2:23:11) – Pornography
(2:29:46) – Sex and Violence continued
(2:38:55) – Cancel culture
(2:50:38) – Elon Musk and Twitter
(2:59:02) – Serial killers
(3:04:55) – Advice for young people
(3:16:57) – Love
(3:22:57) – Mortality
(3:27:40) – Meaning of life