Thriving with Stone-Age Minds: Evolutionary Psychology, Christian Faith, and the Quest for Human Flourishing

Written by Justin L. Barrett and Pamela Ebstyne King

Narrated by Bob Souer

What does God's creation of humanity through the process of evolution mean for human flourishing?

The emerging field of evolutionary psychology remains controversial, perhaps especially among Christians. Yet according to Justin Barrett and Pamela Ebstyne King it can be a powerful tool for understanding human nature and our distinctively human purpose. Thriving with Stone Age Minds provides an introduction to evolutionary psychology, explaining key concepts like hyper-sociality, information gathering, and self-control. Combining insights from evolutionary psychology with resources from the Bible and Christian theology, Barrett and King focus fresh attention on the question, What is human flourishing? When we understand how humans still bear the marks of our evolutionary past, new light shines on some of the most puzzling features of our minds, relationships, and behaviors. One key insight of evolutionary psychology is how humans both adapt to and then alter our environments, or "niches." In fact, we change our world faster than our minds can adapt-and then gaps in our "fitness" emerge. In effect, humans are now attempting to thrive in modern contexts with Stone Age minds. By integrating scientific evidence with wisdom from theological anthropology, we can learn to close up nature-niche gaps and thrive, becoming more what God has created us to be.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ChristianAudio.com
• Release date: Jul 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9781545918654

Justin L. Barrett

Justin Barrett is the author of Why Would Anyone Believe in God? A researcher associate of Oxford’s Centre for Anthropology and Mind, he is Thrive Professor of Developmental Science at Fuller Theological Seminary. Dr. Barrett lives in Pasadena, California.