Biologist Robert Trivers on Evolution and Self-Deception

What this episode covers

Robert Trivers is a widely influential evolutionary thinker whose is theories on the genetic trade-offs of altruism, parent-child relationships and other social interactions are a cornerstone of behavioral ecology and evolutionary psychology. His new book, "The Folly of Fools," applies an evolutionary framework to another set of behaviors: deception and especially self-deception. Subjects discussed in our interview include: self-deception in nature, our capacity to simultaneously know and blind ourselves to the truth, the field formerly known as sociobiology, and Robert's own life and career, including his friendship with the late Black Panther leader Huey Newton.

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