About this episode

Steve Stewart-Williams discusses the science and politics of sex differences, offering a nuanced perspective on the innate and behavioral distinctions between men and women.

The science of sex differences is intensely political. Traditionalists tend to exaggerate the innate differences between men and women, while progressives tend to minimise them, arguing that the behavioural differences we see between the sexes are a product of nurture, rather than nature.  Steve Stewart-Williams wants to offer a more cautious assessment. There are a lot of average differences between the sexes, some of them very pronounced. There are also a lot of small to moderate differences that are visible at the population level, but not necessarily at the individual level. This is a controversial subject, but also an enormously interesting one, with obvious relevance to all of our lives.  Steve Stewart-Williams is a professor of psychology at the University of Nottingham Malaysia and author of books including 'Darwin, God, and the Meaning of Life' and 'The Ape That Understood the Universe.' His latest book is titled 'A Billion Years of Sex Differences: How Evolution Shaped the Minds of Men and Women.' Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Louise Perry

Guest: Steve Stewart-Williams

Topics covered

• sex differences
• politics
• psychology
• evolution
• gender
• behavioral science

Keywords

• sex differences
• gender
• evolution
• psychology
• behavioral differences
• politics
• Steve Stewart-Williams

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Nottingham Malaysia

Books & works: A Billion Years of Sex Differences: How Evolution Shaped the Minds of Men and Women, Darwin, God, and the Meaning of Life, The Ape That Understood the Universe

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