#95 Robert Kurzban: The Hidden Agenda of Our Minds, Modularity, and Politics
Dr. Robert Kurzban is a former Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on the nature of evolved cognitive adaptations for social life. Dr. Kurzban has served as both the editor-in-chief of the journal Evolution & Human Behavior and President of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society. He’s also the author of the books Why Everyone (Else) Is a Hypocrite, and The Hidden Agenda of the Political Mind.
In this episode, we talk about the approach to the mind as being composed by a multitude of evolved cognitive modules that helped us deal with problems during our evolutionary history. We go through some of the main topics of both of Dr. Kurzban’s books, and talk about how our subconscious mind works and some of the implications of it, particularly about a new perspective on phenomena like cognitive dissonance and self-deception. And we also go through some of the implications that it has for politics.
Time Links:
The mind as modules
The notion of “self”
The subconscious parts of our minds, and how they work
Cognitive dissonance and self-deception
Is the subconscious wrong or irrational?
Why don’t people stick with their resolutions?
About personality
Are people really divided in two political tribes?
Moral condemnation and politics
Follow Dr. Kurzban’s work!
Follow Dr. Kurzban’s work:
Personal website: http://www.robkurzban.com/
Articles on Researchgate: https://tinyurl.com/y9xuko7h
Books: https://tinyurl.com/y7kf7g37