Table of Contents
Introduction
Part I – Foundations
Chapter 1 – The Lie of Rationality
The big lie
Emotions and decisions
We are the products of evolution
Chance and circumstance
Chapter 2 – The Big Picture of Brain Evolution
Life without brains
Why do we need a brain?
Following the recipe
Key brain systems
Simplifying to make it useful
Chapter 3 – Brain Basics
Gross anatomy
Experience wires the brain
Use it or lose it
Chapter 4 – How We Learn and Remember
The purpose of memory
Stages of memory
Encoding
Storage
Retrieval
Forgetting and distortion
There is no detailed life recording
Chapter 5 – This Is Your Brain on Drugs
Emotions are signposts for survival
Repetition and emotion – the two key ways to learn
The treadmill of unhappiness
Altered states
The arc of addiction
Feeding and energy balance
Food and emotions
Chapter 6 – The Chemistry of Happiness
Older and newer brain chemicals
Dopamine – motivation and energy control
Updating our mental model
The pleasure circuit in more detail
Endorphins – emergency pain suppression
Oxytocin – attachment and outgroups
Serotonin – social dominance and hierarchy
Happiness gone wrong
Part II – Reptiles and Shrews
Chapter 7 – The Autopilot and the Power of Pain
Lizards and shrews
The reptile brain – avoiding harm and ignoring most events
Fear and unhappiness
Sore losers
Chapter 8 – Demystifying Risk
Relativity and reference points
Loss aversion
Sure things and surprises
Chapter 9 – The Emotional Life
Embodied emotions
Personal life experiences
Cultural overlays and interpretation
Chapter 10 – Safer in the Herd
Pluses and minuses of herds
Isolation equals death
Attachment and affection
Avoidance and approach
Status and dominance
Chapter 11 – Good Night, Sweet Dreams
The universal need for sleep
Human sleep
The effects of not sleeping
REM sleep
Dreams as a rehearsal for dangerous events
Remembering, learning, and creativity
Chapter 12 – Monkey See, Monkey Do
Mirror neurons
Imitation
Getting into other people’s heads
Empathy and sympathy
Part III – Clumsy Bigheads
Chapter 13 – Humble Beginnings
Aren’t we amazing?!
Other archaic humans
Brain drain
Chapter 14 – Big Babies
Death by cannonball
Neonatal freaks
Helpless learners
Chapter 15 – Sexy Apes
Are we sluts?
Hunting, gathering, and screwing
High-risk sex
Sexual asymmetry
Men’s signaling
Women’s signaling
The biology of love
Chapter 16 – Let Me Tell You a story
The functions of language
Storytelling and mindreading
Order out of chaos
Simulating social experiences
Gossip, tribes, and civilizations
Chapter 17 – The Dance Between Your Brains
Characteristics of the primal brain
Characteristics of the conscious brain
Part IV – Hypersocial
Chapter 18 – How We Evolved to Be Cultural Creatures
The common narrative of human dominance
The real story – cultural and genetic co-evolution
Big brains evolved for cooperative learning
How culture and genes caught fire
Chapter 19 – The Building Blocks of Culture
Whom to learn from
Teaching
Blind faith
Social rule followers
Chapter 20 – The Social Network
Social thinking
No one is an island
The need for belonging and validation
Peer pressure and conforming
Ingroups and outgroups
Chapter 21 – Ownership, Fairness, and Favors
Ownership and possession
Fairness or revolt
Social and transactional spheres
Reciprocity and obligation
Chapter 22 – Conformity and Integrity
The inner lives of others
Group power
Integrity and consistency
The seeds of voluntary action
Making a public stand
Self-sacrifice
Part V – What’s Next?
Chapter 23 – How to Be More Primal
Get proper sleep
Be in your body
Regularly access your intuition and emotions
Avoid artificial addictions
Don’t be a loner
Learn from others and teach something
Chapter 24 – A Personal Challenge
Appendix – Recommended Reading