How Did We Sip, Dance, and Stumble Our Way to Civilization?

Our Way to Civilization (Little Brown, 2021), asserts that our taste for chemical intoxicants is not an evolutionary mistake but “a miracle of getting fiercely tribal primates to cooperate and build on the cumulative knowledge of previous generations and other people.” Acknowledging the potential downside risks, Slingerland nonetheless asserts that intoxicants are a “badly needed salve for the only animal on the planet afflicted with self-awareness.” Join us as we discuss Slingerland's theory. To assess whether or not he has made a convincing case, study group participants' attitudes about intoxicants will be anonymously surveyed before and after reading this fast moving, pleasant read.