In the first course in this lecture series, Professor Allen MacNeill delved into the exciting new field of evolutionary psychology, the scientific study of how human nature has evolved. In part two, the esteemed professor continues to investigate why humans do the things they do. Questions raised and answered in this course include the following: Why are some people born leaders? Why is warfare so common? And why are so many people deeply religious?
Lecture 1 Dominance and Territoriality
Lecture 2 Primate Politics
Lecture 3 Adaptive Conflict
Lecture 4 The Natural History of Rape
Lecture 5 Guns, Germs, and Steel
Lecture 6 The Neurobiology of Religion
Lecture 7 Religion as Side Effect
Lecture 8 Religion as Social Cement
Lecture 9 Religion and War: A Coevolutionary Arms Race
Lecture 10 Adaptive Pathologies
Lecture 11 My Brain Made Me Do It
Lecture 12 Evolutionary Aesthetics
Lecture 13 Free Will, Intelligent Design and Other Boojums
Lecture 14 Chance, Necessity and Freedom