Edward Slingerland

Alcohol: Why We Drink and What It Does to Us Podcast Episode · 1440 Explores · 10/09/2025 · 36m

New interview about Drunk, also with David Nutt, who is trying to develop a chemical that would have the positive effects of alcohol without the downsides. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1...

An example of questions from the Ritual poll focused on the cause or trigger of the ritual

This poll came out of a workshop at the Santa Fe Institute @sfiscience.bsky.social co-organized by Edward Slingerland (@slingerland.bsky.social) and Marco Buongiorno Nardelli (@musicntwrk.bsky.social), with input from experts from a wide variety of fields.

"Drunk hypothesis", recently elaborated by @slingerland.bsky.social, argues that alcohol played a significant role in promoting large-scale cooperation and the development of complex hierarchical societies. (2/5)

YouTube video by The Nerve with Maureen Callahan Exposing Myths Behind Dangers of Drinking Alcohol, w/ Edward Slingerland & Dr. Kenneth Mukamal

As with my Rogan appearance, had to weather an anti-vax interlude from the host, but really interesting comments by Ken Mukamal. I thought the medical consensus now was alcohol net-negative, but he disputes this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpi-...

We have just published our second release of our Standard Cross Cultural Sample of Religion (SCCSR)! This version adds language tags which can be use to help control for historical relatedness (in addition to a lot more data). Check out the release on Zenodo here: zenodo.org/records/1496...

Mengzi

New paper in print! In it I argue against grounding moral concern for others in the "Golden Rule" or "imagining yourself in another's shoes". The ancient Chinese philosopher Mengzi offers a better approach: Extend your concern for nearby others to similar but more distant others. 1/3

🚨 Finally out! My new @annualreviews.bsky.social in Psychology paper:
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
We unpack why psych theories of generalization keep cycling from rigid rule-based models to flexible similarity-based ones, then culminating in Bayesian hybrids. Let's break it down 👉 🧵

People praying in a church

This marks our first venture into science communication for the humanities, and I'm grateful to @slingerland.bsky.social for trusting us with telling this story!

YouTube video by The Dissenter #28 Edward Slingerland: The Cognitive Science of Religion, And What Science Offers the Humanities

In episode 28, I talk with Dr. Edward Slingerland (
@slingerland.bsky.social) about the #CognitiveScience of religion, and what #Science offers the humanities. #Anthropology

youtu.be/zZ3h00-huR4

🚨 Get Paid to Get High! 🚨

Are you a regular cannabis user? Help us uncover the cognitive effects of cannabis in a new study at U of Toronto Scarborough!

Time: 1.5–2 hrs
Compensation: $40
Eligibility: Male (per Health Canada restrictions)

Take the prescreening survey: tinyurl.com/ytdrrjpb

Revisiting Stereotype Threat A Reckoning for Social Psychology

Stereotype threat: a once-dominant idea in social psychology that shaped how we think about identity and performance. But what happens when the evidence crumbles? A deep dive into the failed replications, the myths, and what it all means. Read my latest essay: open.substack.com/pub/michaeli...

Our paper on emotional contagion in a collective ritual is now officially out in the American Journal of Human Biology. Using wearable GPS and electrodermal activity monitors, we track the spread of emotional arousal in the context of a religious procession.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Mala copa: cómo la ingesta de alcohol ha estimulado la evolución ‘Borrachos’, del filósofo Edward Slingerland, indaga en las razones nutricionales, médicas, sociales y creativas por las que el humano consume alcohol.

Nice review of the Spanish edition of Drunk, "Borrachos": www.milenio.com/cultura/labe...

The Database of Religious History is here at AAR/SBL! Come check us out in the book exhibit near the coffee (booth 814). #aarsbl

Doing good science is 90% finding a science buddy to constantly talk to about the project.

YouTube video by Database of Religious History Exploring Religion's Past, Present, and Future

What is the Database of Religious History? Our new intro video is visually stunning and gives a great overview of the project. youtu.be/bkTVIZAwZ4c @religionhistory.bsky.social

Trying to support the move away from X….

I have it bad… It’s embarrassing writing things on the board now.

Should PhD Students Drink More? The Benefits of Alcohol

Pubs are back, and we’re seeing each other face-to-face again—but has something gone missing with the shift to mocktails and mineral water? In my latest piece, I dig into what’s lost (and gained) when we go teetotal—and why our ancestors might not approve.

open.substack.com/pub/michaeli...

A toast to smaller wine glasses – but our best ideas have been inspired by alcohol | Andrew Anthon... In taking the 250ml choice off the menu, it was shown last week that a gentle nudge is all we need to cut back

Simple tricks, like using a small wine glass, can help moderate consumption. Nice short piece in The Guardian: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

A lecture given by Prof. Edward Slingerland (University of British Columbia) in January 11th 2024 as part of the Collaborative Learning 四海为学 Lecture Series. ... Edward Slingerland_Literature, Moral Perception and Early Confucian Virtue Ethics

Recent Zoom talk, hosted by East China Normal University, on the new academic book project: www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh8C...