Steve Stewart-Williams Ph.D.

About

Steve Stewart-Williams, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology at the University of Nottingham Malaysia. Before taking up his current position, he was a senior lecturer at Swansea University, and before that, he did a postdoctoral fellowship at McMaster University in Canada, working with Professors Martin Daly and Margo Wilson. He did his Ph.D. in psychology and philosophy at Massey University in New Zealand (where he's from).

Steve's hobbies include scary movies, good food, and playing the guitar. His first book was Darwin, God, and the Meaning of Life: How Evolutionary Theory Undermines Everything You Thought You Knew (2010. Cambridge University Press). His latest book is The Ape That Understood the Universe: How the Mind and Culture Evolve (2018. Cambridge University Press).

Books by Steve Stewart-Williams Ph.D.

Recent Posts

How Culture Makes Us Smarter

Cumulative culture gives us knowledge and tools beyond our individual powers.

The World Without Us

Do we care more about the future existence of other people than about our own future existence? In a strange kind of way, maybe we do.

Bertrand Russell's Ten Commandments

Russell: “The Ten Commandments that, as a teacher, I should wish to promulgate, might be set forth as follows..."

Bike Helmet Laws and the Law of Unintended Consequences

Bicycle helmet laws reduce head injuries - because they put kids off riding their bikes.

A Quick Guide to the Replication Crisis In Psychology

Studying psychology? A lot of what you're taught probably isn't true.

Why Do Politicians Say Dumb Things?

Why do politicians - many of whom are presumably pretty smart - often say such non-smart things? According to Jason Brennan, it's the rational thing to do.

Making (the Science of) Sex Fun

Meet the woman who can think herself to orgasm, the woman who has an orgasm every time she brushes her teeth, and the pig farmers who manually "pleasure" female pigs in order to increase their chances of getting pregnant (the pigs' chances, that is)...

Sex Differences: Proof of Sexism or a Sign of Social Health?

In some domains, greater gender equity leads to larger sex differences

Quote of the Day: William James on Consciousness

William James was one of greatest writers in the history of psychology. He was also one of the first evolutionary psychologists (the first was Darwin). In his book, The Principles of Psychology, James muses on the mystery of conscious awareness. Check out one of my favourite of his quotes on that topic.

The Cartoon Guide to Psychology!

Recently a reader put me onto these very cool, very smart cartoons, which deal with a range of topics in psychology and evolutionary biology and life in general. The stars of the show are some sperm and eggs going about their everyday business. The cartoons are the brainchildren of Sheila McCann; if you like 'em, there are plenty more where these came from...