One of the delights of the past couple years has been becoming friends with Robert (Bob) Wright. For a long time and from afar, I've been stimulated by his writing and thinking. When I discovered that his next effort involved Buddhism, meditation, and evolutionary psychology, I jumped at the opportunity to be an ally/collaborator/thought partner. I've learned a lot.
Over the past couple years, in various MeaningofLife.TV episodes, essays, blog posts, tweets, his Coursera course, and elsewhere, Bob has been sharing bits and pieces of how he thinks about the connection between ev psych — which he originally popularized in The Moral Animal — and Buddhism .
Now, in his new book — hot off the presses! — he presents the full argument in one coherent volume. It is titled Why Buddhism Is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment. It's a fantastic book that speaks directly to a secular reader. He makes the argument that the Buddha's diagnosis of the human condition — that we fail to see the world clearly and this causes us to suffer — is consistent with how you'd expect natural selection to "design" a human brain with the singular goal of genetic proliferation. Buddhism's prescription for what to do if you wish to see the world more clearly, become happier, and be a more morally upstanding human being (the trifecta!) makes a great deal of sense, in Bob's view. And in his experience, by attending several meditation retreats and maintaining a daily practice, there are some practical steps one can take to move closer to these truths in one's own life.
Evolutionary psychology has generated no "credible scientific models of how the mind works", and treating all human behaviors as evolutionary adaptations, functions of natural selection, is a flawed premise on which to construct its theoretical foundation.
Great to hear from you, Vince!
Evolutionary psychology does have its critics. Smart people on both sides of the issue. Myself, I find it a compelling body of work.
this is what's known as 'yuppie buddhism' and is totally useless. this man clearly does not get it.