The Sophia Lectures With Bret Weinstein - Lecture 2: Biological Nature to What End?
Description
In his lecture Biological Nature to What End?, Dr Bret Weinstein explores the principles of evolution as a lens for understanding human nature, culture, and the pursuit of well-being. Moving from the biotic and abiotic universes to the subtle dynamics of kin and group selection, he reveals how traits emerge, persist, and change across generations. Weinstein challenges the conflation of data collection with science, advocating for predictive models that embrace paradox, complexity, and long-term explanatory power. Throughout the talk, he considers how evolutionary patterns shape morality, culture, and human creativity, demonstrating how the principles of biology illuminate both the substrate of our nature and the universals that underlie human civilization. Bret is later joined by his wife, Heather, to respond to audience questions exploring the relationship between scientific insight and the aesthetic and conceptual modes of the arts, underscoring the complementary ways humans discern meaning and pattern in the world.
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Authors and Works Mentioned in this Episode:
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Maimonides
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Notre Dame
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Richard Dawkins: Selfish Gene
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Aristotle
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The Cathedral of Córdoba
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Dmitri Mendeleev’s Periodic Table of Elements
United States
