Scientist: How Self-Discipline & the Human Mind Work | Dr. Rob Kurzban

The Science of a Happy Life | Dr. Joseph Sirgy

Dr. Joseph Sirgy is a management psychologist, professor emeritus of marketing at Virginia Tech, and author of over 40 academic books and 300 scientific papers. Dr. Sirgy has extensively researched and written about the science of quality of life, wellbeing, and happiness over the course of his decades-long career. 0:00 Intro 0:25 Introduction to the Most Important Science 8:44 The 3 Faces of Happiness 11:11 The Experienced vs. Evaluative Happiness Debate 13:13 Layers of Happiness: Biology, Emotions, Traits, Etc. 25:57 How Should I Live, and How to Be Happy? 27:43 Why I Disagree With (Some) Happiness Scientists; You Can't Just "Think Yourself Happy" 34:45 How Happiness Works, and How to Be Happy 38:23 Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs 46:11 How to Be Happier 48:17 Tools to Make Your Mind a Happier Place to Live 53:44 How to Structure a Maximally Happy Day 57:27 The Most Important Happiness Levers In One's Day 1:03:26 The Purpose of Everything a Human Does (Perhaps) 1:04:46 How Can People Make Their Leisure Happier/More Enjoyable? 1:14:12 How Does Our Health Affect Our Happiness? 1:21:33 Drugs & Happiness 1:23:56 Happiness Begets Happiness 1:26:35 How to Get More Happiness From Work? 1:33:36 The Difference Between a Career and a Calling 1:37:36 How to Find Your Calling if You Have No Idea What It Is? 1:47:18 What Matters Most for Quality of Life? 1:50:58 What Matters Least for Quality of Life, but Is Overrated? MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE: Corey Keyes's "Languishing: How to Feel Alive Again in a World That Wears Us Down" – www.amazon.com/Languishing-Alive-Again-World-Wears/dp/0593444620 FIND JOSEPH SIRGY: Dr. Sirgy's Website – https://sites.google.com/a/vt.edu/joe-sirgy-personal-website/ EPISODES LIKE THIS: The Evolutionary Psychology of Happiness & Achievement | Dr. Lionel Page – https://youtu.be/USkA2kdPMCU Your Brain Is Designed to Lie to You | Dr. David Pinsof – https://youtu.be/JYb9k391HBg The Hidden (Evolutionary) Motives Behind Everything You Do | Dr. Robin Hanson – https://youtu.be/8ziMZDlNMcE Scientist: How Self-Discipline & the Human Mind Work | Dr. Rob Kurzban – https://youtu.be/7PRFSJZpdkQ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/faHVkP99-GE

The Evolutionary Psychology of Happiness & Achievement | Dr. Lionel Page

Dr. Lionel Page is a professor of economics at the University of Queensland. Lionel is also the author of the Substack "Optimally Irrational," where he writes about various topics including psychology, the science of happiness, human nature, politics, evolutionary psychology, irrationality, and various other topics. In this episode, Dr. Page and I talk about how happiness can be understood from an evolutionary perspective. We start with why evolution seems implausible to many, and then move on to talk about how happiness works, why happiness doesn’t last, why we have incorrect intuitions about happiness, how status affects happiness, and more. We also cover how goals affect happiness, and how to optimize goal-setting for happiness. 0:00 Intro 0:58 What Can Evolution Tell Us About Happiness? 9:32 Why Evolution Seems Like Bullshit 20:02 Primary vs. Secondary Rewards 28:17 Happiness Is Relative 41:00 How Your Brain Calibrates Your Happiness 46:14 Hedonic Adaptation; Why Happiness Doesn’t Last 53:04 We Are Designed to Delude Ourselves About Happiness; The Focusing Illusion 57:32 How Do Goals Affect Our Happiness? 1:14:29 How Can We Set Goals for Maximum Happiness? 1:28:16 Evolving for Controllable Happiness Is Impossible 1:34:25 Is Any Lasting Happiness Possible? 1:36:51 Do We Habituate to Status? 1:43:07 Is Happiness Mediated by Surprise 1:57:28 Do Some Things Consistently Give Happiness? 2:01:01 Would Dr. Page Change Anything About His Happiness Articles? MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE How Eyes Evolved (Richard Dawkins) – https://youtu.be/c4lrEM6Txtk FIND DR. PAGE Dr. Page's Substack – https://www.optimallyirrational.com/ Dr. Page's X – https://x.com/page_eco Optimally Irrational (book) – https://amzn.to/48TdKa5 EPISODES LIKE THIS Your Brain Is Designed to Lie to You | Dr. David Pinsof – https://youtu.be/JYb9k391HBg The Hidden (Evolutionary) Motives Behind Everything You Do | Dr. Robin Hanson – https://youtu.be/8ziMZDlNMcE Scientist: How Self-Discipline & the Human Mind Work | Dr. Rob Kurzban – https://youtu.be/7PRFSJZpdkQ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/USkA2kdPMCU

Scientist: How Self-Discipline & the Human Mind Work | Dr. Rob Kurzban

Dr. Robert Kurzban is a former professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and an evolutionary psychologist. Dr. Kurzban was mentored and trained by Dr. John Tooby and Dr. Leda Cosmides, both founders of the field of modern evolutionary psychology. In this episode, I converse with Dr. Kurzban about evolutionary psychology, the science of self-discipline, and the theory of the modular mind. We look at the now-debunked resource view of willpower (ego depletion) and a better theory of self-discipline, as well as what science tells us we can do to be more disciplined. Through an evolutionary lens, Dr. Kurzban and I examine a handful of other topics such as self-esteem, self-deception, the evolutionary psychology of morality, and whether men overperceive sexual interest (the so-called "sexual overperception bias"). 0:00 Intro 1:42 One of Science's Greatest Ideas for Understanding the Mind 7:12 Science Advances at a Crawl 7:49 The Strong Correlation Between Parental Grief and Reproductive Value 15:11 You Are Not a "Self," You Are A Committee 17:47 Why it Feels Like We Have One Conscious Experience; Consciousness Can Be Split 23:50 What Is a Module? 26:03 Psychological Organs 29:52 Is There Specific Evidence for the Mind Being Modular? 31:35 Evolutionary Ideas ARE Testable 32:51 An Example of Modularity From Neuroscience 37:02 A Brief Overview of the Science of Self-Control 39:05 A Better Theory of Self-Control 42:24 Willpower-As-Resource is a Debunked Theory 50:37 How Do Different Modules Take Charge of "You?" 59:41 Various Techniques to Use This Theory to Be More Self-Disciplined 1:01:48 The Self-Discipline Equation, & How to Tweak It for Better Results 1:03:48 Altering Human Biology for More Self-Discipline 1:07:45 Artificial Friends 1:10:35 A Better Theory of Self-Esteem and Self-Evaluation 1:13:38 The Most Effective Way of Building Self-Esteem/Confidence 1:17:32 A Better Theory of Self-Deception 1:20:27 Why Does Self-Deception Exist? 1:27:40 The Evolutionary Origins of Morality 1:31:32 What Would Dr. Kurzban Change About His Book? 1:33:11 Do Men Overperceive Sexual Interest? 1:36:56 Where to Find Dr. Kurzban MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE "Human Grief: Is Its Intensity Related to the Reproductive Value of the Deceased?" (Crawford et al.) – https://gwern.net/doc/psychology/1989-crawford.pdf Folly of Fools by Robert Trivers – https://amzn.to/4q7OodTKurzban & Perilloux's paper on sexual overperception bias – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25413875/ Kurzban & Perilloux's paper on sexual overperception bias in non-Americans – https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40806-015-0017-5 Martie Haselton & Bill von Hippel's paper on sexual overperception bias – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28056212/ Kurzban & Perilloux's reply to Haselton & von Hippel – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28056211/ FIND DR. KURZBAN Dr. Kurzban's Substack – https://thelivingfossils.substack.com/ Dr. Kurzban on X – https://x.com/rkurzban Why Everyone (Else) Is a Hypocrite (book) – https://amzn.to/3MCD4rw The Hidden Agenda of the Political Mind: How Self-Interest Shapes Our Opinions and Why We Won't Admit It (book) – https://amzn.to/4pASM5g EPISODES LIKE THIS Your Brain Is Designed to Lie to You | Dr. David Pinsof – https://youtu.be/JYb9k391HBg Professor: The Hidden Motives Behind Everything You Do | Dr. Robin Hanson – https://youtu.be/8ziMZDlNMcE Psychology Professor: The 8 Most Common Thinking Errors | Dr. Alexander Swan – https://youtu.be/96HCK0HKz_0 Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Iln5FSC44X4

Neuroscientist: "Andrew Huberman is Wrong About Dopamine" | Dr. Hermes Solenzol

Dr. Juan Carlos Marvizón, (pseudonym Hermes Solenzol) is a retired neuroscientist and expert in pain physiology, as well as a former member of the UCLA Brain Research Institute. He is also an author of various... romance books, and has a blog about various topics including science, philosophy, and more. In this episode, Dr. Solenzol and I talk about some of the mistakes and oversimplifications made by Dr. Andrew Huberman and Dr. Anna Lembke. We also talk about all things dopamine, including its role in pleasure, its role in motivation/wanting, the neurobiology of the "dopamine reward pathway," the pleasure-pain balance being "bullshit," habituation, addiction, compulsive behavior, drugs' interactions with the brain, pornography, gambling, and more. 0:00 Intro 0:47 How Dr. Huberman & Dr. Lembke Are Wrong About Dopamine 5:13 Can Non-Drug Stimuli (e.g. Behavior) Be Addictive? 9:54 Does Dopamine Cause Pleasure? Or Just Desire? 15:31 The Neurobiology of the Dopamine (Mesolimbic) Reward Pathway 17:53 How Drugs Interact With Dopamine Release & the Brain 19:13 A Simpler Explanation of Dopamine, the Reward Pathway, & Drug Interactions With the Brain (Trying to Dispel Confusion) 22:20 Dopamine Peaks & Baselines 24:23 What Does Dopamine Do, and What Does It Make Us Feel? 28:03 Does Dopamine Make Us Desire & Crave? 29:04 Dopamine Receptors (Very Important for Understanding Dopamine & Its Effects) 37:01 Dopamine Is the Molecule of Change 37:46 The Neurobiology of Addiction 46:56 Compulsive Behaviors; Too Much Dopamine 50:18 Dr. Huberman is Wrong: Supplementing L-Tyrosine is Useless for Dopamine 52:02 L-Dopa Supplementation, Problems With L-Dopa 56:06 Neurobiological & Other Differences Between Addiction & Compulsion 1:02:49 There Is No Such Thing As Too Much Pleasure 1:04:29 Sources of Craving 1:08:58 Why Some People Seek Pain 1:11:51 What's Behind Compulsive Gambling? 1:14:27 Why Is Pornography More Compulsive Than Sex? 1:17:25 "The Pleasure-Pain Balance is Bullshit" 1:22:56 Does "High-Dopamine" Behavior Lead to Less Pleasure? 1:30:29 Does Habituation Affect All Pleasure, or Is It Just Local? 1:32:55 Combatting Habituation With Mindfulness 1:35:16 How Can We Maximize Reward and Minimize the Cost? 1:41:52 How Do We Enjoy Lots of Pleasure While Avoid Habituation, Tolerance, & Other Dark Sides of Pleasure? 1:45:10 A Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy Mind 1:48:48 Where to Find Dr. Solenzol FIND DR. SOLENZOL Dr. Solenzol's blog – https://www.hermessolenzol.com/en Dr. Solenzol's Medium – https://medium.com/@hermessolenzol Dr. Solenzol's Substack – https://scienceandmeaning.substack.com/ DR. SOLENZOL'S BOOKS Games of Love and Kink – https://amzn.to/47DhgV9 Juegos de amor y dolor – https://amzn.to/4mwbBVI Cecilia desencadenada – https://amzn.to/45x0qGk Amores Imposibles – https://amzn.to/45MhO8L La tribu de Cecilia – https://amzn.to/4fJ31A8 Para volverte loca – https://amzn.to/45KDi62 BOOKS MENTIONED Anna Lembke's "Dopamine Nation" – https://amzn.to/45BgsgQ David Linden's "The Compass of Pleasure" – https://amzn.to/4lxSXeB Daniel Lieberman's "The Molecule of More" – https://amzn.to/3Ve4Z22 Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/5X5PgX0qe8M

The Hidden Motives Behind Everything You Do | Dr. Robin Hanson

Dr. Robin Hanson is a polymath, a well-known rationalist, and an associate professor of economics at George Mason University. In this conversation, Dr. Hanson speaks with me about the underlying motivations behind much of human behavior, and how the pretexts (the reasons we give) for our behavior don’t often match the subtexts (the real reasons). In this episode, Dr. Hanson and I talk about evolutionary psychology, how your conscious mind just presents a favorable picture of your motives and not your real motives, why we have a press secretary in the brain at all, the subtexts underlying all interpersonal communication, signaling, status, why we laugh, and more. We talk about hidden motives in various areas of everyday life such as body language, conversation, laughter, education, medicine, politics, religion, charitable giving, and more. 0:00 Intro 0:36 Why Dr. Hanson Began Studying "Hidden" Human Motives 3:03 Why Humans Evolved to Self-Deceive 5:52 Why Care What Others Think? 6:41 The Liar in Your Brain, and Why You Have One 10:30 Split-Brain Patients: A Case Study of the Brain Making up Lies 14:36 Signaling & Showing People What We Want Them to See 18:31 Hidden Motives in Nonverbal Communication 20:21 Status Signaling in Nonverbal Communication 25:57 Your Conscious Mind Is Not in Charge 27:43 What Can We Do To Be Perceived More Favorably? 30:33 The Visual Dominance Ratio: Eye Contact Patterns Signal Status 32:17 Status Is the Undercurrent of Almost Every Interaction 36:15 Hidden Motives in Conversation 40:17 Why Do We Laugh? Hidden Motives in Laughter 43:47 Can Evolutionary Psychology Show Us How to Be Funnier? 45:11 Does Threat & Uncertainty Make People Laugh More? 47:45 Conspicuous Consumption 54:11 Hidden Motives in Charitable Giving & Altruism 58:41 Hidden Motives in Medicine; On the Margin, Medicine Isn't Helpful 1:11:29 Education Isn't About Learning—Hidden Motives in Education 1:14:09 Does Education Pay For Itself? Is the Economic ROI Worthwhile? 1:19:19 Hidden Motives in Politics 1:26:29 Hidden Motives in Religion 1:29:39 Most Religious People Are Hardly Religious At All 1:32:47 The Benefits of Understanding the Hidden Motives Behind Human Behavior 1:35:12 How Dr. Hanson Uses His Knowledge of Hidden Motives 1:37:23 How to Leverage Your Human Nature to Get What You Want 1:40:35 What Dr. Hanson Would Change About The Elephant in the Brain if Re-Writing It Today 1:42:04 Where to Find Robin Hanson 1:42:35 Teaser FIND DR. HANSON: The Elephant in the Brain – https://amzn.to/4orZxGm Dr. Hanson's Substack "Overcoming Bias" – https://www.overcomingbias.com/ BOOKS MENTIONED: Bryan Caplan's "The Case Against Education" – https://amzn.to/4fpQNwp Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/8ziMZDlNMcE