Paul Bloom: The Psychology of Everything

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The Psychology of Everything: What Compassion, Racism, and Sex tell us about Human Nature

Paul Bloom, Brooks and Suzanne Ragen Professor of Psychology, Yale University

Give Paul Bloom one hour, and he’ll teach you “the psychology of everything,” illustrating some of the most fundamental elements of human nature through case studies about compassion, racism, and sex. He discusses some of the biggest questions in the nature versus nurture debate, including “Are we hard-wired to care about others?” Bloom points out why stereotyping can be both detrimental and beneficial, and he even explains what the porn preference of monkeys tells us about our own sexual choosiness, or lack thereof. After the hour is up you’ll understand why Bloom calls psychology, because of its cross-disciplinary nature, “the perfect liberal arts major.”

[Source: Big Think YouTube link]

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