188: Evolutionary Psychology versus Meditation
Why Buddhism is True written by Robert Wright 'Why Buddhism is True' looks at the science and philosophy of meditation and enlightenment. \nRobert Wright is a devout non-meditating anger prone evolutionary psychologist and writer. He dives headlong into the world of meditation with surprising results, and explain why it works from an evolutionary standpoint. \nRobert Wright famously explained in The Moral Animal how evolution shaped the human brain. The mind is designed to often delude us, he argued, about ourselves and about the world. And it is designed to make happiness hard to sustain. But if we know our minds are rigged for anxiety, depression, anger, and greed, what do we do? \nWright locates the answer in Buddhism, which figured out thousands of years ago what scientists are only discovering now. Buddhism holds that human suffering is a result of not seeing the world clearly\u2014and proposes that seeing the world more clearly, through meditation, will make us better, happier people. \nIn Why Buddhism is True, Wright leads readers on a journey through psychology, philosophy, and a great many silent retreats to show how and why meditation can serve as the foundation for a spiritual life in a secular age. With bracing honesty and fierce wisdom, it will persuade you not just that Buddhism is true\u2014which is to say, a way out of our delusion\u2014but that it can ultimately save us from ourselves, as individuals and as a species. \n- - -\nOn the growth mindset podcast with Sam Webster Harris, we explore the psychology of happiness, satisfaction, purpose, and growth through the lens of self-improvement. Success and happiness is a state of mind unique to ourselves and is our responsibility to create.\nThrough a process of honest self-reflection of what is holding us back and what is driving us forward, we can lose the ego and build awareness of how to be our best.\n- - -\nConnect with Sam:\nCreativity Newsletter - Explosive Thinking\nWatch the pod - YouTube (Growth Mindset)\nTwitter - @samjamharris\nInstagram - @SamJam.zen\n- - -\nShow: Growth Mindset, psychology of self-improvement\nEpisode: Evolutionary Psychology versus Meditation\n \nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices