2min snip

Mindful Drinking cover image

Alcohol & Evolution with Dr. Edward Slingerland

Mindful Drinking

NOTE

Utilizing Alcohol as a Cultural Technology for Spontaneity

The speaker's dissertation and book focus on the paradox of trying not to try when it comes to being spontaneous in social interactions. The cognitive paradox arises when trying to relax activates the brain's control center. Early Chinese philosophers developed techniques like using the body or breathing techniques to overcome this paradox. One of them used drunkenness as a metaphor for achieving a state of spontaneous ease. The speaker considered alcohol as a cultural technology to tackle the challenge of being consciously spontaneous while maintaining desired outcomes.

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