On Humans Ilari Mäkelä

In this highlight from season 1, Ilari talks with economist Oded Galor about how factors such as soil quality can explain cultural differences. For the full episode and show notes, see episode 13. For the first episode with Galor, see episode 12.



Season 2 is out in June! Do consider subscribing to stay updated. 

In this highlight from season 1, Helen Fisher discusses her research with couples deeply in love after 20 years of marriage. The clip also includes Fisher's 7 science-based tips for fostering romantic relationships, and a cautionary note on SSRI (not SNRI) antidepressants.



Dig deeper

To read more about the possible effects of SSRIs on sex drive and romantic love, see ⁠Tocco and Brumbaugh (2019)⁠. Below is a short list of some possible alternatives and/or complements to SSRIs (please consult with your doctor in all matters related to pharmaceuticals):


Fisher herself suggested that SNRIs could be less risky than SSRIs. Theoretically, dopamine reuptake inhibitors, such as bupropion, could also counter the risks associated with SSRIs (for a review, see ⁠Zisook et al. 2006⁠).
For alternative or complementary oral treatments of depression, see research on supplementation with a high dosage of Omega 3 (EPA and DHA, not ALA) (for a review, see ⁠Bhat & Ara 2015⁠).

In this highlight from season 1, Kristen Hawkes presents an intriguing hypothesis about the human past. According to Hawkes, ancient climate changes pushed our ancestors away from the rainforests. On the savannas, teamwork was finally rewarded

For more notes and links, see the original episode 6 (Are Grandmothers the Key to Our Evolutionary Success).

Season 1 is over. Season 2 is coming. In the meanwhile, please enjoy some highlights from the archives.

This highlight revisits episode four, where Ilari talks with psychiatrist and neuroscientist Gregory Berns about his recent book, Self Delusion.  In this flashback, Berns explains why he thinks psychiatry has been led astray by "medicine envy" and why we misunderstand many of the root causes of mental illness.

For more show notes and links, see the original episode.

In the final episode of season 1, Ilari addresses one of the underlying themes in many of the season's episodes: Darwinism. Is Darwinism dangerous? Is Darwinism linked to vicious ideologies? Does Darwinism prove that we are all selfish?

These questions have been addressed in many of this season's episodes (most notably episodes 1 and 2, but also 6, 8, and 11). In this short solo episode, Ilari connects some dots by reading his essay Distorting Darwinism (PDF), published in the Skeptic Magazine. Topics include:


The early links between Darwinism and far-right ideologies


Why do even professional evolutionists make rookie mistakes in explaining humans.


Richard Dawkin's U-turn on human nature


Are all males naturally inclined to mate with a harem of females?


Why human desires come in “endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful”




The problem with “scratch an altruist and watch a hypocrite bleed”


Survival of the friendliest: from silver foxes to human self-domestication


Conclusions: ”Not everything evolution teaches us is nice and jolly. But we must stay alert at the perilous ease in which selfishness, ruthlessness, and deceptiveness seep into evolutionary theorising, even when not appropriate.”





Names mentioned


Charles Darwin 


Herbert Spencer (19th Century philosopher)


William Jennings Bryan (early 20th Century American politician)


Richard Dawkins (author of Selfish Gene, 1976)


Edward Fox (British actor)


Robert Sapolsky (author of Behave, 2017)


Michael Ghiselin (20th Century evolutionary biologist)


Jonathan Haidt (author of Righteous Mind, 2011)


Frans de Waal (author of Primates and Philosophers, 2006)


Dmitri Belyaev (20th Century geneticist)


Lyudmila Trut (co-author of How To Tame A Fox, 2017)


Brian Hare (co-author of Survival of the Friendliest, 2020)


Richard Wrangham (author of The Goodness Paradox, 2019)





Technical terms


Scopes Monkey Trial (famous legal case in 1925 regarding the teaching of evolution in Tennessee high schools)


Social Darwinism 


Self-domestication 





Get in touch


Makela.ilari@outlook.com

The idea of Universal Basic Income (UBI) is simple: Everyone should have an income. And that they should have it whether they work or not. Indeed, its simplicity has made UBI an attractive policy suggestion for many on both the left and the right. But sometimes the practical virtues of UBI can distract us from the deeper significance of this idea.

Karl Widerquist is an economist and political philosopher who has campaigned for UBI since the 90s. And he thinks that it is a practical idea. But he also thinks that it can remedy something deeper than government bureaucracies. He thinks that it can remedy our social contract. For Widerquist, UBI is our best tool to navigate the difficult waters between elitist liberalism and oppressive communism. Yet somewhere beyond those waters lies a genuinely free society. And he thinks we can get there very soon. 

This is an important argument. But it is also a very stimulating one. Indeed, Widerquist‘s treatment of the topic takes us from the biases of John Locke to the hunting grounds of medieval peasants.

In this discussion, Dr Widerquist and Ilari discuss topics such as:


Why UBI has friends on both sides of the political divide
Why UBI is needed for a (genuinely) free society
Modern poverty and the problem with "negative vs positive freedoms"
Why modernity is not a land of the free (or how the masses lost access to the means of food production)
The freedoms of our ancestors, from hunter-gatherers to peasants
The problem with "owning" natural resources
John Locke's mistake
The role of the enclosure movements (in Europe) and colonialism (outside of Europe)
Why Widerquist is not a Marxist
UBI vs the Nordic welfare state
What happened in Finland when the government tested a UBI
Why UBI promotes respect, kindness, and unselfishness.



Technical terms mentioned


Universal basic income or UBI (also known as basic income guarantee)
Negative income tax (similar in outcome to a UBI)
Positive vs negative freedoms
The enclosure movement





Names mentioned


Milton Friedman (20th Century American economist)


Isaiah Berlin (20th Century philosopher)


Thomas Paine (18th Century philosopher)


Henry George (19th Century economist)


Herbert Spencer (19th Century philosopher)


Gerald Allan Cohen (contemporary Canadian philosopher)


Michael Otsuka (contemporary philosopher)


John Locke (17th Century philosopher)


Thomas Hobbes (17th Century philosopher)


Jean-Jacques Rousseau (18th Century philosopher)


David Hume (18th Century philosopher)



Mentioned work

Isaiah Berlin lectures

Prehistoric Myths in Modern Political Theory (Widerquist & McCall 2017)

Prehistory of Private Property (Widerquist & McCall 2021)