While religion and science often seem at odds, there’s one thing they can agree on: people who take part in spiritual practices tend to live longer, healthier, and happier lives. The big question is: Why? In How God Works, professor Dave DeSteno takes us on a journey to find out how spirituality impacts our minds and bodies, as well as the world in which we live.
He speaks to leading scientists and philosophers, religious thinkers, and thought leaders to explore what we can learn from the world’s faith traditions to help us meet some of life’s biggest challenges. Along the way, he’ll look at how we can adapt and use spiritual practices in our own lives, whatever our beliefs, including none at all.
It’s by working across the boundaries that usually divide us – science versus religion, one faith versus another – that we’ll find new ways to make life better for everyone.
While religion and science often seem at odds, there’s one thing they can agree on: people who take part in spiritual practices tend to live longer, healthier, and happier lives. The big question is: Why? In How God Works, professor Dave DeSteno takes us on a journey to find out how spirituality impacts our minds and bodies, as well as the world in which we live.
He speaks to leading scientists and philosophers, religious thinkers, and thought leaders to explore what we can learn from the world’s faith traditions to help us meet some of life’s biggest challenges. Along the way, he’ll look at how we can adapt and use spiritual practices in our own lives, whatever our beliefs, including none at all.
It’s by working across the boundaries that usually divide us – science versus religion, one faith versus another – that we’ll find new ways to make life better for everyone.
When it comes to finding happiness, many religions see marriage as the gold standard: a path to love, stability, and fulfillment. But is that really true? And if so, why are marriage rates plummeting in so many parts of the world?
In this episode, we’ll talk to anthropologist Joseph Henrich about the surprising history of marriage and monogamy, including how these institutions helped lay the groundwork for much of our modern way of life. We’ll also speak with psychologist Geoff MacDonald about what it means to live a happy, single life in a world that often prioritizes partnership, and why marriage might not offer the best road to fulfillment for everyone.
Joseph Henrich is the Ruth Moore Professor of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University, and the author of The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous.
Geoff MacDonald is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto, where he leads the MacDonald Social Psychology Research Laboratory, which aims to study well-being in singlehood.