Evolutionary Psychology with Steven Pinker: Week 4, Post 1

The interview with Steven Pinker was a very interesting interview that touched on a lot of subjects but in general the topic was Evolutionary Psychology. I found the conversation they were having about kin selection very interesting because I have always thought the topic of families , relatives, and friends to be very interesting in the sense that, why it is we do it and how long it has it been that way. The answer is probably, forever. I think the reason we care more about our loved ones then the average person is because, deeply seeded in the human mind, through a process called natural selection, is the need, desire and duty to keep their gene pool alive in the world. Every human beings deepest human need is to procreate and to stay alive. And I think deep down no one really cares about you more then you care about yourself. That is because you are all you can control, and also because you have to find a way to pass your genes on with the best possible mate.
Evolutionary Psychology is a study of psychology that studies how human behavior has evolved through natural selection over the last 2 million years. Evolutionary Psychology looks at things like the emotions or pattern of thought that humans have and looks at the underlying motives of a particular behavior. They look at the universal motives and patterns of thought in human behavior. I find the part of this interview when he talks about how our family has 50% of the same genes as we do but how it’s not the same as 100%. Pinker says that there comes a time when even with a family member there can be conflict of interest. Even in a family setting, their interests don’t always coincide with your wishes.