Week 6- Expert Lecture- Steven Pinker on Evolutionary Psychology

Evolutionary Psychology is the study of the mind constraints on evolution. Steven Pinker believes that the mind was developed in the way that it was because of natural selection. When you seek the adapted mind then you begin to see that everything in the mind has an adapted part in natural selection except when it comes to dreams or music which he believes are by products of the brain. Listening to this you begin to think how weird this is because it is natural to believe that your mind is one or a whole. That it would all be part of natural selection because dreams are a part of what makes us human. Its for our dreams that allow us to think outside the box or sometimes give us hope when we are not able to see the light. Without dreams there would be no reason to roll out of bed because you would already know that it is not possible.Most Evolutionary scientist study the differences to the environment not to ones genes which is rather odd because you would think that the differences that we have would all be obtained due to the genes that we are given from our creator. But then again if you look at it, it
could also come from the environment because a person who lives in Southern California thinks and acts much different from a person who lives in the mid-west.Intelligence is a generic property. Steven talks about a robot and how it will never be able to be human. Kin selection is the key to understanding our social relations why people care more about there children, why blood is thicker than water or why airports are busy during the holidays. Kinship is almost everything. You have stronger feelings about your kin than anything else. Robert Trivers said that you love your brother and sister because they have 50 percent of your genes but not a 100 because what my brother wants isn't what I want and what my sister wants for me isn't what I want. This is interseting because my dad you know well all dad want things that I feel are not the best for me in my life.
Steven Pinker had some really great theories that show you why we think the way that we think. I love how he talked about benefiting from people who are not your blood relative is rare because in society today you don't see it happening. People are to in grossed or worried about themselfves to know what is going on.