371: Evo Psych Didn’t Ruin Anything, You’re Just Focused on the Scary Part

0:00 Teaser Clips & Intro

02:42 Q1:  Listener struggles with finding meaning and motivation after embracing an evolutionary-psychology worldview that feels deterministic and uncomfortable.

7:03 The start of psychotherapy

17:00 Life problems are competitive

33:10 You’re not better off not knowing about human nature

49:07 Everybody knows the truth, deep down

1:05:04 Final thoughts

Q1: This podcast has ruined my life. Well, not exactly, but it certainly hasn’t helped. Yet, like passing a car crash, I cannot look away. My desire to understand the true nature of our existence seems to supersede the delusions that I might otherwise be comfortable with. With each episode comes a new insight that I previously wouldn’t have had swimming around in my head, but I’m still enamored with the biological and philosophical implications of Dr. Lisle’s approach to our evolution. But because these ideas are uncomfortable, they tend to put me in a place socially, and even in my own head, that isn’t exactly producing satisfaction. I have always been afflicted with the idea that, much like buying into a religion, accepting the fantasies that we humans have constructed to deal with these hard truths would lead to a happier existence. Yet, I can not unknow or unthink these things. If I never had listened to this podcast, I might consider therapy, or medication management for my angst, and maybe they would have helped me a certain percentage, but now I am fully on board with Dr. Lisle’s approach and know deep down his are the only real answers to life’s modern problems. Even though there’s still a small part of me that questions how immutable his advice seems, I can not steer myself into a satisfactory mindset. Unfortunately, all of this has caused me to devolve into somewhat of a determinist, referencing Dr. Lisle in life’s modern struggles when one of these so-called, maladaptive behaviors (e.g. irritability, anxiety, hyper-vigilance, lack of satisfaction no matter how good life seems to be, etc.) arises leading me to simply ask myself, “why bother taking action if this is how I’m wired.” So my question is, how can I find purpose and meaning while still maintaining intellectual honesty in this complicated world when manipulating my environment and the people around me isn’t exactly the most practical thing to accomplish?

X: @BeatYourGenes

Web: www.beatyourgenes.org

Doug Lisle, PhD www.esteemdynamics.com

Nathan Gershfeld, DC www.fastingescape.com

Intro & outro song: City of Happy Ones • Ferenc Hegedus Licensed for use

Copyright Beat Your Genes Podcast