Ancestral Mating Strategies VS Modern Mating - Mads Larsen

Mads Larsen is a Norwegian author and journalist whose research focuses on the history of human mating ideologies. The narrative of human romance is an ancient story. But that story has not always remained the same, the last 10,000 years has been a crazy journey through different beliefs on why we should find and stay with a partner and today we get to hear about all the fascinating details. Expect to learn why it's so illuminating to study the story of mating ideologies across time, how our modern beliefs about finding a partner are historically very unusual, why having a daughter as a farmer could be a useful addition to your farming strategy, why Incels are so unhappy, why old people are the happiest despite evidence to the contrary in the past and much more... Sponsors: Get $150/£150 discount on the Eight Sleep Pod Cover at https://eightsleep.com/modernwisdom (discount automatically applied) Get 20% discount on Nomatic’s amazing luggage at https://nomatic.com/modernwisdom (use code MODERNWISDOM) Get $150 discount on Plunge’s amazing sauna or cold plunge at https://plunge.com (use code MW150) Extra Stuff: Get my free Reading List of 100 books to read before you die → https://chriswillx.com/books/ To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom #dating #love #philosophy - 00:00 Why Does Mating Need an Ideology? 03:09 Our Ancestors’ Typical Mating Strategies 12:33 The Oldest Mating Ideology 18:52 Why Churches Imposed Monogamy 23:20 When Courtship Was Introduced 34:33 The Basis For Our Current Mating Ideology 42:39 The Post-1750 Sexual Revolutions 48:38 Did the Church Lose Control in 1750? 55:48 Impact of Introducing Contraception 1:01:30 What is Causing Today’s Mating Dysfunctions? 1:10:27 Are We On the Verge of a New Mating Era? 1:23:11 Why Are People So Unhappy? 1:34:27 How Comparison Can Impact Wellbeing 1:45:19 Where to Find Mads - Get access to every episode 10 hours before YouTube by subscribing for free on Spotify - https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn or Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Get my free Reading List of 100 life-changing books here - https://chriswillx.com/books/ Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic here - https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom - Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/

Chris WilliamsonhostMads Larsenguest

Nov 9, 20231h 46mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: November 9, 2023
Duration: 1h 46m
Channel: Modern Wisdom
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Mads Larsen is a Norwegian author and journalist whose research focuses on the history of human mating ideologies. The narrative of human romance is an ancient story. But that story has not always remained the same, the last 10,000 years has been a crazy journey through different beliefs on why we should find and stay with a partner and today we get to hear about all the fascinating details. Expect to learn why it's so illuminating to study the story of mating ideologies across time, how our modern beliefs about finding a partner are historically very unusual, why having a daughter as a farmer could be a useful addition to your farming strategy, why Incels are so unhappy, why old people are the happiest despite evidence to the contrary in the past and much more... Sponsors: Get $150/£150 discount on the Eight Sleep Pod Cover at https://eightsleep.com/modernwisdom (discount automatically applied) Get 20% discount on Nomatic’s amazing luggage at https://nomatic.com/modernwisdom (use code MODERNWISDOM) Get $150 discount on Plunge’s amazing sauna or cold plunge at https://plunge.com (use code MW150) Extra Stuff: Get my free Reading List of 100 books to read before you die → https://chriswillx.com/books/ To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom #dating #love #philosophy - 00:00 Why Does Mating Need an Ideology? 03:09 Our Ancestors’ Typical Mating Strategies 12:33 The Oldest Mating Ideology 18:52 Why Churches Imposed Monogamy 23:20 When Courtship Was Introduced 34:33 The Basis For Our Current Mating Ideology 42:39 The Post-1750 Sexual Revolutions 48:38 Did the Church Lose Control in 1750? 55:48 Impact of Introducing Contraception 1:01:30 What is Causing Today’s Mating Dysfunctions? 1:10:27 Are We On the Verge of a New Mating Era? 1:23:11 Why Are People So Unhappy? 1:34:27 How Comparison Can Impact Wellbeing 1:45:19 Where to Find Mads - Get access to every episode 10 hours before YouTube by subscribing for free on Spotify - https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn or Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Get my free Reading List of 100 life-changing books here - https://chriswillx.com/books/ Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic here - https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom - Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/

SPEAKERS

Chris Williamson
host
Mads Larsen
guest

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Modern Wisdom, featuring Chris Williamson and Mads Larsen, Ancestral Mating Strategies VS Modern Mating - Mads Larsen explores from Heroic Rape Cultures To Tinder: How Mating Stories Evolve Chris Williamson and Mads Larsen trace 6 million years of human mating, arguing that every social order rests on how men and women reproduce and the stories we build around it. They outline successive “mating ideologies” — from promiscuous primates to polygynous warrior cultures, church‑enforced monogamy, romantic marriage, and today’s individualistic, low‑fertility regime. Larsen explains how religion, law, economics, and technology (especially contraception and dating apps) have repeatedly overruled our evolved impulses, often to stabilize societies but now contributing to demographic decline and widespread mating frustration. They close by linking modern loneliness, incels, falling happiness, and future tech (artificial wombs, AI partners) to a coming “fourth sexual revolution” whose consequences are impossible to predict.

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