Psychology, Aliens & Averting The Apocalypse - Robert Wright | Modern Wisdom Podcast 338

Robert Wright is President of the Nonzero Foundation, an author and Visiting Professor of Science and Religion at Union Theological Seminary in New York. Bob's book The Moral Animal has changed my thinking more than pretty much any other over the last few years, so naturally I wanted to bring him on to discuss whether aliens are real and how we can avoid existential risks. For real though, expect to learn the role that evolutionary psychology plays in mindfulness practice, why Bob thinks that aliens are probably enlightened, how global coordination can be improved by everyone meditating, whether we're doomed for civilisational collapse and much more... Sponsors: Get a Free Sample Pack of all LMNT Flavours at https://www.drinklmnt.com/modernwisdom (discount automatically applied) Get 83% discount & 3 months free from Surfshark VPN at https://surfshark.deals/MODERNWISDOM (use code MODERNWISDOM) Extra Stuff: Follow Robert on Substack - https://nonzero.substack.com/ Follow Robert on Twitter - https://twitter.com/robertwrighter Get my free Ultimate Life Hacks List to 10x your daily productivity → https://chriswillx.com/lifehacks/ To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom #evolutionarypsychology #aliens #existentialrisk - Listen to all episodes online. Search "Modern Wisdom" on any Podcast App or click here: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/modern-wisdom - 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/

Robert WrightguestChris Williamsonhost

Jun 24, 20211h 11mWatch on YouTube ↗

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Mindfulness, Tribalism, and Aliens: Psychology’s Role In Saving Civilization

Robert Wright connects evolutionary psychology, Buddhist mindfulness, and global politics, arguing that our evolved tribal instincts now threaten humanity’s survival. He frames problems like nuclear war, climate change, and disinformation as "nonzero-sum" coordination challenges that our biased, status-obsessed minds struggle to handle.
Mindfulness, in his view, is both a personal therapeutic tool and a political technology: it helps individuals suffer less from anxiety, envy, and online tribalism while making them harder to manipulate and more capable of global cooperation.
Wright and Chris Williamson also explore the Fermi paradox and UFOs, speculating that any civilization advanced enough to reach us would likely be less tribal and more morally enlightened, and therefore evidence that surviving our current crossroads is possible.
They close by discussing status, social media, cancel culture, and the creator economy (Substack, podcasts) as new battlegrounds where our ancient drives for esteem and belonging are amplified and monetized, but can also be consciously redirected.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Use mindfulness to interrupt tribal emotional reactions—especially online.

Before replying, retweeting, or sharing something provocative, Wright suggests briefly closing your eyes and locating the feeling in your body that’s driving you. Simply examining the emotion (anger, anxiety, contempt) usually reduces its grip and lowers the chance you’ll amplify toxic tribalism.

Recognize that many negative emotions are evolutionarily functional but now maladaptive.

Anxiety, status obsession, and quick anger were shaped by natural selection to solve survival and reproductive problems, not to make us happy or suited to a hyper-connected world. Seeing them as inherited design features, not personal failures, makes them easier to work with rather than obey.

Treat dukkha—the constant sense that “this could be better”—as a bias, not reality.

Our built-in restlessness (the hedonic treadmill) pushes us to chase the next promotion, purchase, or status hit and then quickly devalues the result. Mindfulness can help you notice this "dukkha bias" in real time, loosening its hold so you can actually savor achievements and good moments.

Link self-help to world-help: personal practice makes you a better citizen.

Wright argues that becoming less anxious, less reactive, and more appreciative via mindfulness naturally reduces your susceptibility to demagogues and outrage-bait. This personal stability scales up to better democratic judgment and more capacity for global cooperation on nuclear, climate, and tech risks.

Design your environment to support second-order habits, like a second daily meditation.

He notes that morning meditation alone can plateau and suggests adding a short, fixed-time second session when your mind is more agitated (e.g., early evening), using a unique alarm (e.g., a watch) so you don’t reflexively dismiss it like calendar pings.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

The quest to be respected is the most natural thing in the world for human beings.

— Robert Wright

Self-help and kind of helping the world can coincide.

— Robert Wright

Feelings are the great motivators. Thoughts are involved in the process, but generally speaking, when we are motivated to do something, there is a feeling, however subtle, driving us to do that.

— Robert Wright

If I know one of your views, and from it I can accurately predict everything else that you believe, I can probably safely assume that you're not a serious thinker.

— Chris Williamson

I think somebody needs to find a way to make it be considered cool to not be an asshole on Twitter.

— Robert Wright

Evolutionary psychology as the basis of human nature and tribalismMindfulness and Buddhist practice as tools to manage evolved biasesThe Apocalypse Aversion Project and global nonzero-sum problemsSocial media, status-seeking, and the psychology of online tribalismThe Fermi paradox, UFOs, and what alien civilizations imply about usDukkha (unsatisfactoriness), hedonic treadmill, and modern achievement cultureCreator economy dynamics: Substack, paywalls, and speech/cancel-culture tensions

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