THE EVOLUTION OF EMOTIONS & THEIR SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS
Our Sunday, May 27, Science & Buddhism discussion will be on the Evolution of Emotions, and their Social Implications.
Jikoji teacher Cliff Isberg will lead the discussion, which will augment and balance our prior discussions of basic sciences, while considering how biology includes us, as highlighted by a now-famous essay, Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution.
The discussion will be quite open, since emotional influences are universal and hard to categorize. We will examine how cognitive bias might be largely due to unconscious emotional influences from evolution, childhood, experience, and other factors known and unknown.
Several recent books will inform this discussion
- E.O. Wilson, “The Origins of Creativity”
- Steven Pinker, "Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress"
- Robert M. Sapolsky, “Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst”
TED talks from each of these authors are also available.
- My wish: Build the Encyclopedia of Life, Wilson, 2007
- Is the world getting better or worse? A look at the numbers, Pinker, 2018
- The biology of our best and worst selves, Sapolsky, 2017
We also invite you to join us that Sunday morning for our 10 am Sunday Program, Dharma Talk, and social lunch, ahead of our 2 pm Science & Buddhism session. Cliff will be giving the Dharma Talk, at 11:45, on a related topic: The Hindrances, and Joy, in Practice.
All are welcome. No prior experience with science, Buddhism, or meditation is necessary. Hope to see you there.