#54 Robin Hanson: The Elephant in the Brain, Selfishness and Prosociality, Social Progress
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Dr. Robin Hanson is an Associate Professor of Economics at George Mason University and a research associate at the Future of Humanity Institute of Oxford University. He’s also the author of books like The Age of Em, and The Elephant in the Brain.
In this episode, the conversation centers around the book The Elephant in the Brain. We talk about subconscious motivations; selfishness and prosociality; rationalizations; strong and weak social norms; personality variability and hidden motivations; conspicuous consumption; prestige status; bragging and self-esteem; costly signaling; self-deception; the social role of laughter; the limits of comedy; the social importance of gossip; the prosociality of nepotism; the social aspects of advertising; art and conspicuous signaling; charity, waste, and effective altruism; the social value of education; conspicuous effort and waste in medicine; the narrative of the self; enlightened self-interest; being humble; individual vs collective change; niche communities; capitalism and social progress; and related topics.
Time Links:
00:36 The elephant in the brain
02:30 Evolutionary perspectives on hidden motives
04:43 The Dissenter strikes back on disagreeable ends
08:04 Rationalizations
10:02 Selfishness and prosociality
12:49 We can get away with violating weak norms
14:11 Bragging about positive motivations
17:58 Adding personality variability to the picture
21:05 Conspicuous consumption
23:25 Signaling positive personality traits through material means
25:08 Prestige status
27:21 – Bragging and self-esteem
30:00 The drawbacks of costly signaling
31:25 Self-deception
33:22 The interpreter module
34:53 Norms as rationalizations
36:11 The social role of laughter
44:20 The limits of comedy
50:45 The social importance of gossip
55:26 The prosociality of nepotism
57:08 The social aspects of advertising
1:03:18 Art and conspicuous signaling
1:09:28 Charity, waste, and effective altruism
1:18:03 The social value of education
1:27:53 Thought experiment on a society of inconspicuous consumption
1:30:51 Conspicuous effort and waste in medicine
1:40:56 Reactions to the book
1:46:25 The narrative of the self
1:49:44 Enlightened self-interest
1:52:41 Being humble
1:57:56 Balance between subconscious drives and exerting control over them
2:04:27 Individual vs collective change
2:16:57 Niche communities
2:21:43 Modern life and personal identity
2:26:10 Capitalism and social progress
2:31:10 Where can you follow Dr. Hanson’s work?
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O Dr. Robin Hanson é um Professor Associado de Economia da George Mason University e um investigador associado do Future of Humanity Institute da Universidade de Oxford. É também o autor de livros como The Age of Em, e The Elephant in the Brain.
Neste episódio, a conversa é centrada no livro The Elephant in the Brain. Falamos sobre motivações subconscientes; egoísmo e prossocialidade; racionalizações; normas sociais fortes e fracas; variabilidade de personalidade e motivações escondidas; consumo conspícuo; status de prestígio; relação entre gabarolice e autoestima; sinalização dispendiosa; autodeceção; o papel social do riso; os limites da comédia; a importância social da fofoquice; a prossocialidade do nepotismo; os aspetos sociais da publicidade; arte e sinalizaç
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