Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Simon Baron-Cohen, Subrena Smith and Keith Frankish debate evolutionary psychology.
Can we overcome evolution?
With a free trial, you can watch the full debate at iai.tv/video/overcoming-evolution?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=description
As with the animal kingdom, we see human behaviour as the product of elemental drives to survive and reproduce. Evolutionary psychology has taken this a stage further - seeing violence, social hierarchy, and sexual promiscuity as a product of evolutionary drives. But might this be a misleading and dangerous approach? Murder rates have fallen seventy-fold since the Middle Ages, and across the globe birth rates are a fraction of what they were a hundred years ago. Fathers are actively involved in child care and we've radically changed our outlook on social issues like gender identity - suggesting ideas and culture drive behaviour rather than evolution.
Should we conclude that evolutionary psychology is a blind alley with no predictive power? Are we capable of overcoming behavioural traits and therefore wholly responsible for our actions? Or is evolution an inescapable force and behavioural change a result of altered circumstances while our core nature remains identical?
#evolution #evolutionarypsychology #psychology
Critic of evolutionary psychology Subrena E. Smith, philosopher of mind Keith Frankish, and clinical psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen debate the significance of evolutionary psychology. Hosted by Güneş Taylor.
The Institute of Art and Ideas features videos and articles from cutting edge thinkers discussing the ideas that are shaping the world, from metaphysics to string theory, technology to democracy, aesthetics to genetics. Subscribe today! iai.tv/subscribe?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=overcoming-evolution
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Simon Baron-Cohen, Subrena Smith and Keith Frankish debate evolutionary psychology.
Can we overcome evolution?
With a free trial, you can watch the full debate at iai.tv/video/overcoming-evolution?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=description
As with the animal kingdom, we see human behaviour as the product of elemental drives to survive and reproduce. Evolutionary psychology has taken this a stage further - seeing violence, social hierarchy, and sexual promiscuity as a product of evolutionary drives. But might this be a misleading and dangerous approach? Murder rates have fallen seventy-fold since the Middle Ages, and across the globe birth rates are a fraction of what they were a hundred years ago. Fathers are actively involved in child care and we've radically changed our outlook on social issues like gender identity - suggesting ideas and culture drive behaviour rather than evolution.
Should we conclude that evolutionary psychology is a blind alley with no predictive power? Are we capable of overcoming behavioural traits and therefore wholly responsible for our actions? Or is evolution an inescapable force and behavioural change a result of altered circumstances while our core nature remains identical?
#evolution #evolutionarypsychology #psychology
Critic of evolutionary psychology Subrena E. Smith, philosopher of mind Keith Frankish, and clinical psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen debate the significance of evolutionary psychology. Hosted by Güneş Taylor.
The Institute of Art and Ideas features videos and articles from cutting edge thinkers discussing the ideas that are shaping the world, from metaphysics to string theory, technology to democracy, aesthetics to genetics. Subscribe today! iai.tv/subscribe?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=overcoming-evolution
For debates and talks: iai.tv
For articles: iai.tv/articles
For courses: iai.tv/iai-academy/courses
