Seminar Series
How the Hunter–Gatherer Mind Still Rules Our Modern Lives
How the Hunter–Gatherer Mind Still Rules Our Modern Lives
Dr. Hamed Vahdati Nasab
12 NOV 2025
14:00 - 15:00
The human brain, unlike the rapid pace of cultural and technological change, is the product of long evolutionary processes shaped over millions of years within a hunter–gatherer context. Most of our cognitive, emotional, and social mechanisms evolved for life in small, mobile, and environmentally embedded groups—not for existence in today’s dense, complex urban societies. This mismatch between our evolved mind and the modern world underlies many of the behavioral patterns and psychological conflicts characteristic of contemporary life.
Drawing on findings from evolutionary psychology, neuroscience, and behavioral archaeology, this talk explores how ancient adaptations—such as fear, aggression, empathy, food preferences, and social tendencies—manifest themselves in modern contexts, often in maladaptive ways. For instance, the ancestral craving for sugar and fat, once a survival strategy in food-scarce environments, now contributes to global health issues; likewise, our deep-seated desire for social validation finds new expression in the dynamics of social media.
The goal of this talk is not to romanticize the past but to illuminate the evolutionary legacy that continues to shape human behavior. By understanding the prehistoric architecture of our minds, we can better interpret our motivations, biases, and challenges in the modern age. To understand the hunter–gatherer mind, ultimately, is to understand ourselves.
