Thread by @dw2

"Humankind - Uncover a radical new perspective on human nature that prioritises generosity, cooperation and trust" @LukeRobertMason interviewing author Rutger Bregman on #FUTURESPodcast. Streaming live in 5 minutes, from the top of the hour

I've been listening to the audiobook of "Humankind" over the last few days. It's audacious, provocative, and challenges lots of received wisdom about human nature. And it's inspiring. It's likely to be mentioned countless times in the months and years ahead #FUTURESPodcast

So much of society is designed around the assumption that human civilisation is only a thin veneer over a basic nature that is selfish. But @rcbregman sees lots of evidence that human nature has many tendencies to friendliness, altruism, and cooperation #FUTURESPodcast

A major issue with a view that highlights the selfish tendencies in human nature is that it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If our theories emphasise dark hidden motives, that is what we will tend to notice, and tend to expect, with bad consequences #FUTURESPodcast

It was human friendliness that allowed human innovations to spread more widely. New methods of fishing, boat-designing, etc, once invented, could be passed to wider groups. Therefore Homo Sapiens fared better than the larger-brained Neanderthals - @rcbregman at #FUTURESPodcast

What was the evolutionary advantage to humans of being (probably) the only animal that blushes? @rcbregman suggests it aided the development of trust between humans. Likewise for the whites in our eyes, and our expressive brow and eyebrows. #FUTURESPodcast

With the growth of civilisation, with cities and states, humanity moved from "the survival of the friendliest" to "the survival of the most shameless" - @rcbregman in #FUTURESPodcast

The famous Hobbesian description of life as "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short" was apt once agriculture and cities started, but isn't accurate for life in the earlier phase of human/gatherer societies, which were primarily egalitarian - @rcbregman at #FUTURESPodcast

We are all aware these days of the need to think about what we put into our mouths when we eat. We need to think just as hard about what news sources we spend time listening to. Otherwise we'll end up with a "mean world syndrome" - @rcbregman in #FUTURESPodcast

Just added to my "Want to read" list: "Against Elections: The Case for Democracy" by @Davidvanrey - recommended by @rcbregman in #FUTURESPodcast goodreads.com/book/show/2960…

Another interesting recommendation from tonight's #FUTURESPodcast: "The Brussels Effect: How the European Union Rules the World" by @anubradford - published, perhaps surprisingly, in March 2020 goodreads.com/book/show/5204…

Some practical advice from @rcbregman: rather than assuming other people are just like you, and applying the golden rule, instead ask them questions, and apply the platinum rule: “Treat others the way they would like to be treated” #FUTURESPodcast goodreads.com/book/show/1219…

Do we need a new enlightenment, but based on empathy rather than rationality, asks @LukeRobertMason. We need both, replies @rcbregman, and we actually need to be able to counteract some of our intuitions about other people #FUTURESPodcast

In campaigning for a better world, we need each other, across a wide coalition. But the people who hate @rcbregman the most, he says, are often the people who agree with him almost the most as well, but who fall foul of "the narcissism of minor differences" #FUTURESPodcast