In Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human, primatologist Richard Wrangham argues that cooking gave early humans an advantage over other primates, leading to larger brains and more free time. Wrangham discusses his theory, and why Homo sapiens can’t live on raw food alone.
Indyplanets / tags / evolution
Tagged with “evolution”
(10)
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Did Cooking Give Humans An Evolutionary Edge?
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Dacher Keltner - Born to Be Good
http://www.pointofinquiry.org/dacher_keltner_born_to_be_good/
Dacher Keltner is professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, director of the Greater Good Science Center, and coeditor of Greater Good magazine. His research focuses on the prosocial emotions, such as love, sympathy and gratitude, and processes such as teasing and flirtation that enhance bonds. He has conducted empirical studies in three areas of inquiry: the determinants and effects of power, hierarchy and social class; the morality of everyday life, and how we negotiate moral truths in teasing, gossip, and other reputational matters; and the biological and evolutionary basis of the benevolent affects, including compassion, awe, love, gratitude, and laughter and modesty. His new book is Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life.
In this conversation with D.J. Grothe, Dacher Keltner explores the evolutionary origins of human goodness, challenging the view that humans are hardwired to pursue self-interest and to compete. Based on his studies of human emotion, he argues instead that survival is not a matter of who is the fittest, but perhaps who is the kindest — that people may have compassion built into their brains, nervous systems, and genes. He talks about the influence of Charles Darwin on his work studying human emotions. He elaborates on Darwin’s position that sympathy is our strongest evolved instinct, and what everyday behaviors such as smiling, shrugging, and hand-shakes tell us about the conditions of our deep evolution as primates. He talks about how he is taking the Darwinian approach of looking at moment by moment expressions of emotion and asking how these emotions shape a meaningful life. He explains why he looks to science, as well as to secular Eastern philosophy such as Confucianism, for answers about a meaningful life, rather than to Western religions. He describes his concept of the Jen ratio, and how it relates to the neuroscience of happiness. And he explains what the scientific study of positive emotions and activities such as smiling, laughter, teasing, touching, love, gratitude and awe may suggest about happy marriages, well-adapted children, and healthy communities.
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Jerry A. Coyne - Why Evolution Is True
http://www.pointofinquiry.org/jerry_a._coyne_-_why_evolution_is_true/
Jerry A. Coyne has been a professor at the University of Chicago in the department of ecology and evolution for twenty years. He specializes in evolutionary genetics and works predominantly on the origin of new species. He is a regular contributor to The New Republic, the Times Literary Supplement, and other publications. His most recent book is Why Evolution Is True.
In this discussion with D.J. Grothe, Jerry Coyne talks about extent and breadth of the evidence for evolution and how the reasons for believing in evolution are not as clearly argued in today’s textbooks as they were fifty years ago. He contends that professional evolutionists may take evolution on faith, or on the authority of their intellectual forerunners. He explains how evolution is both a theory and a fact. He details the various kinds of evidence for evolution, including evidence from the fossil record, molecular biology, embryology, the existence of vestigial organs, biogeography, and from bad design. He explores how Darwin discovered evolution by natural selection without the evidence from the fossil record. He explains how sexual reproduction is the key to evolution, and talks about sexual selection. He discusses the Intelligent Design movement and exactly how many scientists are actually proponents of ID. He lists some genuine controversies within evolution, and states that they are indeed taught in the schools. He discusses the relationship of belief in evolution to disbelief in God. And he explains why he feels the need, as a scientist, to publicly speak out in defense of Darwinism.
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E.O. Wilson & Bert Hölldobler | The Superorganism: The Beauty, Elegance and Strangeness of Insect Societies
Recorded 12/2/2008 - Eighteen years after the publication of their exhaustive and Pulitzer Prize-winning study The Ants, co-authors E.O. Wilson and Bert Holldobler present a new study of social insects: ants, bees, wasps, and termites, among others, that collectively form ”superorganisms,” i.e. tightly knit colonies of individuals, formed by altruistic cooperation, complex communication, and division of labor. A basic stage of biological organization midway between organism and species, the ”superorganism” is helping us understand evolution and how biological life progresses from simple to complex forms. E.O. Wilson, a Professor Emeritus at Harvard University, where he taught for nearly five decades, is the author of more than 20 books and the recipient of two Pulitzer prizes and the National Medal of Science. Bert Hölldobler is Foundation Professor of Biology at Arizona State University and the recipient of the U.S. Senior Scientist Prize of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and Germany’s Leibniz Prize. Dr. Arthur Caplan, Chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Director, Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, will interview Wilson and Hölldobler.
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Darwin Days 2008: Are We Changing Evolution?
Dr. Warren Allmon, director of the Paleontological Research Institution, leads a panel discussion about the future of evolution
or(Feb 14, 2008 at Cornell University)
As part of the Museum of Natural History at Noon series, Dr. Warren Allmon, director of the Paleontological Research Institution, led a panel discussion on Feb. 14, 2008 about how human activities are changing the direction and rate of future evolution. Discussion ranged from species classification debate to the impact of modern medicine on the evolutionary advancement of humans.
http://uc.princeton.edu/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3251
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Natalie Angier: The Canon
June 29, 2007 - An interview on Point of Inquiry - She explores the reasons why everyone should work to become scientifically literate. She also details specific reasons why chemistry, evolutionary biology, astronomy and other fields should interest the non-scientist public. Other topics discussed include atheism and science, and the future of science writing.
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Howard Bloom’s “Global Brain” 10 Years On
Many of us feel that the Web is ushering in a new era of global consciousness. But Howard Bloom thinks life has been a collective mind from the very beginning. He made the case in his book "Global Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind From the Big Bang To the 21st Century." Host Jon Udell speaks with Bloom who reviews the themes of that book — group selectionism, complex adaptive systems, collective learning — and considers what has, and hasn’t, changed since the book was published in 2000.
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Daniel Dennett: Thoughts on Consciousness
July 23 2007 - Susan Blackmore interviews Daniel Dennett and brings up the fundamentals of the conscious debate.
Tagged with philosophy daniel dennett consciousness evolution biology soul
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Michael Shermer: The Mind of the Market
April 18 2008 - Michael Shermer discusses his book "The Mind of the Market", and the new field of neuroeconomics. He explores the implications of Darwinian evolution for how people fare in market capitalism, including how we are naturally irrational when it comes to economics, due to our evolutionary heritage. He argues why market capitalism and liberal democracy are best suited to people’s needs, and discusses socialized medicine and other aspects of social welfare programs, contrasting the economy of the United States with those of northern Europe. He examines how free trade may lead to world peace.
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Keith Stanovich - Robot’s Rebellion: Finding Meaning in the Age of Darwin
November 30 2007 - Keith Stanovich talks about the implications of universal darwinism.