Dr. Robert Trivers: "The Folly of Fools: The Logic of Deceit and Self-Deception"

"The Folly of Fools: The Logic of Deceit and Self-Deception in Human Life"

Whether it’s in a cockpit at takeoff or the planning of an offensive war, a romantic relationship or a dispute at the office, there are many opportunities to lie and self-deceive—but deceit and self-deception carry the costs of being alienated from reality and can lead to disaster. So why does deception play such a prominent role in our everyday lives? In his bold new work, Rutgers University evolutionary theorist Robert Trivers unflinchingly argues that self-deception evolved in the service of deceit—the better to fool others. We do it for biological reasons—in order to help us survive and procreate. From viruses mimicking host behavior to humans misremembering (sometimes intentionally) the details of a quarrel, science has proven that the deceptive one can always outwit the masses. But we undertake this deception at our own peril. http://www.skeptic.com/upcoming-lectures/the-logic-of-deceit-and-self-deception/

About Dr. Trivers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Trivers :
Robert L. Trivers (born February 19, 1943, pronounced /ˈtrɪvərz/ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English) ) is an American (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States) evolutionary biologist (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolutionary_biologist) and sociobiologist (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociobiologist) and Professor of Anthropology and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutgers_University). Trivers is most noted for proposing the theories of reciprocal altruism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reciprocal_altruism) (1971), parental investment (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parental_investment) (1972), facultative sex ratio (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_ratio) determination (1973), and parent-offspring conflict (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parent-offspring_conflict) (1974). Other areas in which he has made influential contributions include an adaptive view of self-deception (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-deception) (first described in 1976) and intragenomic conflict (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intragenomic_conflict). Trivers is arguably one of the most influential evolutionary theorists alive today. Steven Pinker (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Pinker) considers Trivers to be "one of the great thinkers in the history of Western thought". [1 ] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Trivers#cite_note-0) Says Pinker, Robert Trivers has:

"inspired an astonishing amount of research and commentary in psychology and biology—the fields of sociobiology, evolutionary psychology, Darwinian social science, and behavioral ecology are in large part attempt to test and flesh out Trivers' ideas. It is no coincidence that E. O. Wilson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._O._Wilson)'s Sociobiology and Richard Dawkins (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Dawkins)' The Selfish Gene (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Selfish_Gene) were published in 1975 and 1976 respectively, just a few years after Trivers' seminal papers. Both bestselling authors openly acknowledged that they were popularizing Trivers' ideas and the research they spawned. Likewise for the much-talked-about books on evolutionary psychology in the 1990s— The Adapted Mind (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adapted_Mind), The Red Queen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Red_Queen:_Sex_and_the_Evolution_of_Human_Nature), Born to Rebel (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Born_to_Rebel&action=edit&redlink=1), The Origin of Virtue (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Origin_of_Virtue&action=edit&redlink=1), The Moral Animal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Moral_Animal), and my own How the Mind Works (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_the_Mind_Works). Each of these books is based in large part on Trivers' ideas and the explosion of research they inspired (involving dozens of animal species, mathematical and computer modeling, and human social and cognitive psychology)."

This lecture is sponsored by Dr. Michael Shermer's Skeptics Society.

To subscribe to free eSkeptic: http://www.skeptic.com/lectures/how_to_attend.html

Tickets:
First come, first served at the door. Limited seating at 375.
$10 for nonmembers
$8 for Skeptics Society members and the JPL/CalTech community.
Your admission fee is a donation that pays for lecture expenses.

Baxter Hall. THIS LECTURE WILL MOSTLY LIKELY SELL OUT! Come by 1pm at the latest to ensure yourself a seat. This is a No-Host Event. Members can meet at 1:10pm after you've purchased your ticket ($10) opposite the ticket table on the left side of the entry door.

Location and Parking Map:
Baxter Hall at CalTech in Pasadena. Free parking on weekends:
http://www.skeptic.com/downloads/map-BaxterHall.pdf

BE SURE TO ARRIVE BEFORE 1:00pm TO ALLOW FOR PARKING AND PURCHASE OF TICKETS AS THERE IS LIMITED SEATING AND THIS EVENT WILL SELL OUT.

After the lecture, those of us who wish to take tea or a meal together can meet to the left side of the refreshment table if they provide one. If not, we can meet at the original meeting place prior to the beginning of the lecture.

This is an interesting topic... see you there!