#558 Justin Barrett - Thriving with Stone Age Minds; Evo Psych, Christian Faith, and Flourishing
Dr. Justin L. Barrett is founder and president of Blueprint 1543 and adjunct professor of psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary, where he was formerly director of the Thrive Center and chief project developer for Science, Theology, and Religion Initiatives. His new book is Thriving with Stone Age Minds: Evolutionary Psychology, Christian Faith, and the Quest for Human Flourishing.
In this episode, we focus on Thriving with Stone Age Minds. We start by defining “thriving”, and what it means from both an evolutionary psychological and a Christian theological perspective. We discuss why the book is focused on Christianity and not any other religion. We talk about the concept of “human nature”. We talk about the concepts/phenomena of niche construction, evolutionary mismatch, and the nature-niche gap. We discuss the interplay between evolutionary psychology and Christian theology in human flourishing. We talk about the traits of self-control, hypersociality, and expertise acquisition. We then talk about cases of evolutionary mismatch in modern industrialized societies, like the education system, professional occupations, and self-control. We also discuss the religious concept of “telos”. Finally, we discuss potential conflicts that might arise between a scientific and a Christian understanding of the world, particularly when it comes to a purposeless evolution by natural selection fit into a purposeful Universe created by God, and also if it is possible for humans to thrive without religion.
Time Links:
Intro
What is thriving?
Christian theology on human flourishing
Why the focus on Christianity?
What is human nature?
Niche construction, evolutionary mismatch, and the nature-niche gap
The interplay between evolutionary psychology and Christian theology in human flourishing
Self-control, hypersociality, and expertise acquisition
Modern education systems
Self-control in modern industrialized societies
1.00:18 Occupations
Telos
Conflicts between science and religion
Does the cognitive science of religion explain religion away?
Can humans thrive without religion?
Follow Dr. Barrett’s work!
Follow Dr. Barrett’s work:
Faculty page: https://bit.ly/2FJQcpZ
Blueprint 1543: https://bit.ly/3gdGvlq
Articles on Researchgate: https://bit.ly/2T8ZtjB
Amazon page: https://amzn.to/2TIvURj
Thriving with Stone Age Minds: https://amzn.to/3xHms4H