Agustín Fuentes > Quotes

“Scientific facts are few and far between, popular facts are commonplace and not usually facts at all.”
― Agustín Fuentes, Race, Monogamy, and Other Lies They Told You: Busting Myths about Human Nature

“The brain and all its networks develop, lay down connections, and alter pathways and flows of biochemical signals in constant exchange with our bodies, our senses, the social and physical landscapes we inhabit, and our own thoughts, perceptions, and experiences of all these things.11 This is the embodiment of culture.”
― Agustín Fuentes, Why We Believe: Evolution and the Human Way of Being

“What we call a “belief system” is a particular pattern of collaborative imagination and commitment by a social group. Among the most common and powerful of these are three that we are now in a position to discuss: one we generally call “religion,” another we term “economies,” and the final we call “love.” PART 3 Religion, Economies, Love, and Our Future”
― Agustín Fuentes, Why We Believe: Evolution and the Human Way of Being

“Our basic understanding of evolutionary theory (how evolution works) in the early twenty-first century may be summed up as follows:   1. Mutation introduces genetic variation, which may introduce phenotypic variation. 2. Developmental processes can introduce broader phenotypic variation, which may be heritable. 3. Gene flow and genetic drift mix genetic variation (and potentially its phenotypic correlates) without regard to the function of those genes or traits. 4. Natural selection shapes genotypic and phenotypic variation in response to specific constraints and pressures in the environment. 5. At any given time one or more of the processes above can be affecting a population. 6. Dynamic organism-environment interaction can result in niche construction, changing pressures of natural selection and resulting in ecological inheritance. 7. Cultural patterns and contexts can impact gene flow and the pressures of natural selection, which in turn can affect genetic evolution (gene-culture coevolution). 8. Multiple inheritance systems (genetic, epigenetic, behavioral, and symbolic) can all provide information and contexts that enable populations to change over time or avoid certain changes.”
― Agustín Fuentes, Race, Monogamy, and Other Lies They Told You: Busting Myths about Human Nature