Diana S. Fleischman
Evolutionary psychologist Diana Fleischman talks about what we find disgusting and why. Also, cannibalism and how great it is.
Zach and I had a great time speaking with psychologist and lecturer Diana Fleischman. Originally we planned to discuss transhuman and nonhuman ethics, but, as you’ll hear, we cover quite a bit more territory than that. Also, please send me words of encouragement for not turning this episode into yet another one on fasting, despite my temptation to at the end.
Meanwhile, in a canopy bed far, far away, Tom slept the sleep of the wicked. In fairness, it was 5am and he is an adult. Maybe the last one. No. There is another. Or maybe there isn’t. Either way.
Notes
- If you want to go deeper down the ethical eating rabbit hole, check out our oft-mentioned episode with Brian Tomasik.
- More on the “logic of the larder.”
- The movie (and book) Never Let Me Go (which I’ve never seen) sounds similar to Logan’s Run (which I’ve also never seen).
- Bill Maher on Sammy Davis Jr.
- Diana on the Other Life podcast. Like Zach, Other Life‘s host Justin Murphy thinks suffering is good. They also both say “hello” when they depart and “goodbye” when they arrive.
- The solution to ethical eating? Douglas Adams’s Ameglian Major Cow.
- “Suicide food and sexual cannibalism” by Diana. Read this post to learn more about sadomasochistic pigs and those flippin’ (literally) Australian redback spiders.
- Some of this S&M calculus reminds me of Sam Harris’s treatment of multiple, distinct peaks on The Moral Landscape.
- Diana’s talk on cannibalism, “Cannibalism in Context.”
- Don’t forget to check out our classic episode, “Lab Grown Me.” Alternatively, never listen to our older episodes. Never.
- “The Wisdom of Repugnance” by Leon Kass.
- The Vegan Option, Diana’s former—and someone else’s current—podcast on veganism.
- More on Error Management Theory (EMT) and The Smoke Detector Principle.
- The Moral Foundations Theory of Haidt et al
- And here’s Haidt on libertarian psychology.
- “The Good News of the Decade?” by the late, great Hans Rosling. Watch and learn how beneficial female education is for the world.
- Assuming you eat meat, would you read Peter Singer’s Animal Liberation knowing it has a 30% chance of turning you vegan or vegetarian? This is Diana’s spin on a similar thought experiment found in Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman.
- This video is a good intro to fasting and what distinguishes it from caloric restriction.
- “We need to call American breakfast what it often is: dessert” (via Vox)
Media Mentions
Diana
Scott
- Salt. Apparently, Himalayan, Celtic, or sea are the way to go. They have other minerals, or something. Yup, you know me. Totally knowing what a mineral is. That’s my deal.
- Water and Power
Zach