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#83 | Survival beats truth

SMP LeaderTalks

5. March 2025

Georgiy Michailov meets Prof. Dr. Frank Urbaniok

About errors in thinking, humorless evolution and populism.

1 h 10 Min

"The perceived truth is often more important than facts."

The human mind: the crown of creation. God-given. Inviolable. But what happens when this mind leads us astray? The renowned forensic psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Frank Urbaniok explains why we can't help but see the world in a simplified way. As a result, we fall into thinking traps and are therefore particularly susceptible to populism or conspiracy theories.

"Evolution is humorless - it is only about the survival of the species, not about truth."

Urbaniok takes us on an exciting journey and shows us why our brain rejects complexity for evolutionary reasons. As an expert in human behavior, he knows why the quick search for simple explanations in a complex world can be fatal.

"Follow your common sense - then you are already well positioned."

In conversation with Georgiy Michailov, Urbaniok talks about which cognitive distortions he considers particularly dangerous, why it is high time for a debate on migration and encourages us to maintain our critical thinking.  

*Video only in German

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