QuoteProject
My roots, in college, were in behavior in the context of evolution.
Robert Sapolsky
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote emphasizes the connection between behavior and evolution, highlighting the importance of understanding human actions within an evolutionary framework.

In this quote, Robert Sapolsky reflects on his academic foundation, focusing on how behavior is influenced by evolutionary processes. By acknowledging his roots in studying behavior through the lens of evolution, he underscores the significance of understanding the biological and evolutionary factors that shape our actions and interactions, hinting at the complexity of human nature and the interplay between biology and behavior.

Themes

BehaviorEvolutionScienceHuman NaturePsychology

In practice

Example use cases

In a lecture about the implications of evolution on modern psychology, this quote can be used to introduce the topic.

More from Robert Sapolsky

I used to very politely say that if there is free will then it's in all sorts of boring places, like whether you're going to pick up this or that fork as you begin your meal. There really is none: It's all biology.
Robert SapolskyRead
When you've wised up enough, there is a very clear conclusion that you have to reach after a while, which is, at the end of the day, it is really impossible for one person to make a difference.
Robert SapolskyRead
My adolescent rebellions took the form of, if anything, passive aggressively doing what was asked of me but doing it ten times more than what was asked of me, so that eventually they'd have to beg me to stop.
Robert SapolskyRead
When humans invented material inequality, they came up with a way of subjugating the low-ranking like nothing ever seen before in the primate world.
Robert SapolskyRead
Yes, genes are important for understanding our behavior. Incredibly important - after all, they code for every protein pertinent to brain function, endocrinology, etc., etc. But the regulation of genes is often more interesting than the genes themselves, and it's the environment that regulates genes.
Robert SapolskyRead
I expected social rank to be the determining factor in health, and in some ways that's true. But far more important is what sort of society that rank occurs in. Being low ranking in a benevolent troop is a hell of a lot better for your blood pressure than being low ranking in an aggressive troop.
Robert SapolskyRead

Similar quotes

Science is the tool of the Western mind and with it more doors can be opened than with bare hands.
Carl JungRead
Science is the topography of ignorance.
Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.Read
If we're going to go farther from Earth, to Mars or somewhere else someday, we have to have a good understanding of the psychological impact on people. And not only psychologically, but how it affects their cognition. We're doing a lot of research on my cognitive abilities.
Scott KellyRead
More than two decades after the birth of Louise Brown, and all the hysteria that surrounded her 'test tube' conception, we should know that institutions, not technologies, create dystopias. Artificially conceived children are everywhere, beloved by their parents, and they haven't radically altered our world.
Virginia PostrelRead
Inventive genius requires pleasurable mental activity as a condition for its vigorous exercise. "Necessity is the mother of invention" is a silly proverb. "Necessity is the mother of futile dodges" is much closer to the truth. The basis of growth of modern invention is science, and science is almost wholly the outgrowth of pleasurable intellectual curiosity.
Alfred North WhiteheadRead
We should be ready to reach out beyond our planet and beyond our solar system to find out what is really going on out there.
Edgar MitchellRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.