Video
Interview
Interview
Steven Pinker – On Psychology and Human Nature
An informal conversation about evolution, behavior, and what it means to be responsible for our actions.
Steven Pinker talks to us about psychology and human nature — how theories of the mind have changed over time, and what those theories mean for the way we build policy and think about individual responsibility.
What is discussed
- Does the theory of evolution apply to behavior? The episode opens on the question of whether evolutionary reasoning can explain the way people behave.
- How did people explain behavior before the theory of evolution? A look at the accounts of human nature that preceded Darwinian biology.
- What helped us move into different theories of human nature? The intellectual shifts that produced modern accounts of the mind, including the social brain hypothesis discussed in the conversation.
- Are our policies affected by theories of human nature? How prevailing assumptions about human nature feed into the policies institutions write.
- How to think about individual responsibility? A closing discussion of individual versus social responsibility, and the biological origins of the behaviour that makes the question possible.
Episode details
| Speaker | Steven Pinker |
|---|---|
| Subject | Psychology and human nature |
| Published | August 2, 2013 |
| Format | Recorded conversation, hosted on Vimeo (channel 374206) |
| Also covers | Social brain hypothesis; individual vs. social responsibility |
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