Evolutionary psychologist Rob Kurzban, author of All the Feels, joins Chris Williamson to explain emotions through evolution. His core model: every feeling measures something (pathogen risk, status, danger) and then motivates a behavior. Consciousness acts as a common currency for weighing competing priorities.
He walks through body-maintenance feelings (itch, nausea, disgust, claustrophobia as lost prospect and refuge) and social ones. Envy tracks opportunity, jealousy defends relationships, contempt filters limited friendship slots, and embarrassment honestly signals norm-following. Depression may bargain for support. Modern environments hijack these systems: social media inflates envy, and moral condemnation is an appetite platforms feed. He defends evolutionary psychology against the just-so-story critique, saying it tests hypotheses about function. His practical takeaway: ask what a feeling is trying to get you to do, then decide whether to obey.