Episode 298: Pass the Peace Pipe

Explicit content warning

12/10/24 • 80 min

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Why do we punish people? How did our punishment practices evolve and what is their primary function? David and Tamler talk about a new paper that examines punitive justice in three small-scale societies - the Kiowa equestrian foragers in late 19th century North America, Mentawai horticulturalists in Indonesia, and Nuer pastoralists. The authors challenge the dominant view of punishment as a means of norm enforcement arguing instead that its main function is reconciliation, restoring cooperative relationships, and preventing further violence. Get ready for runaway pigs, peace pipes, wife stealing, banana stealing, black magic, leopard-skin chiefs, and David maybe finally coming around to restorative justice. Plus we choose from a long list of fantastic topic suggestions from our beloved Patreon supporters and narrow down to six finalists for the listener selected episode.

Fitouchi, L., & Singh, M. (2023). Punitive justice serves to restore reciprocal cooperation in three small-scale societies. Evolution and Human Behavior, 44(5), 502-514.

Third-party punishment [wikipedia.org]

Fitouchi, L., & Singh, M. (2023). Punitive justice serves to restore reciprocal cooperation in three small-scale societies. Evolution and Human Behavior, 44(5), 502-514.

Third-party punishment [wikipedia.org]

Previous Episode

Episode 297: No Pleasure in Meanness (Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find")

David and Tamler face off with the Misfit in Flannery O’Connor’s classic short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” We sort through the biblical allusions, dark comedy, nihilism, and the possibility of grace or rebirth (but whose?). Plus why do motorists dehumanize cyclists? Is it the helmets? Sounds like a job for the insect-based "Ascent of Man" scale.

Limb, M., & Collyer, S. (2023). The effect of safety attire on perceptions of cyclist dehumanisation. Transportation research part F: traffic psychology and behaviour, 95, 494-509.

"A Good Man is Hard to Find (short story)" [wikipedia.org]

A Good Man is Hard to Find and Other Stories by Flannery O'Connor [amazon.com affiliate link]

(note: you can google for a .pdf of the story and you'll find some links floating around!)

Next Episode

Episode 299: Oh the Humility!

David and Tamler wrap up the new year talking about intellectual virtues and Rachel Fraser’s excellent essay “Against Humility.” What is intellectual humility exactly and do we need it for knowledge and understanding? Does the value of humility depend on the person or the circumstances? Are there contexts where intellectual arrogance is the epistemic virtue? We arrive at the definitive answers to these questions and anyone who disagrees with us is a stupid idiot.

Plus in the second segment we present THE AMBIES (..the ambies), the final episode of "The Ambulators," our episode by episode breakdown of David Milch’s Deadwood. It’s a clip-filled awards ceremony to celebrate what might be the great TV series of all time. Highlights include Best Quote, Best Scene, Best Character (other than Al), Best Slur, Best Antisemitic slur, and lots more.

"Why intellectual humility isn't always a virtue" by Rachel Fraser [aeon.co]

Deadwood (TV Series) [wikipedia.org]