I read _The Moral Animal_ in my mid-teens. It was a great introduction to evolutionary psychology and moral naturalism. The naturalist explains moral behaviour in terms of evolutionary adaptations that enable mutually beneficial co-operation between individuals and/or enable some groups to gain advantages over others. Some years later I read _Nonzero_. The book was probably my first encounter with the idea that managing risks from increasingly powerful and democratised technological capabilities will be one of the most important challenges of this century (for more on this, see [[Nick Bostrom]]). In my early twenties I took Wright’s “Buddhism and Modern Psychology” MOOC, and I read _Why Buddhism is True_ soon after it came out. Discussing his interest in Buddhism, I once heard Wright say that after writing _The Moral Animal_, he felt like he had “seen the truth but not the way”. I had a similar experience as a reader. Wright’s work, combined with that of Sam Harris, lead me to start a daily meditation practice, and eventually convinced me to try a silent retreat (“extreme sports for the mind”, in Wright’s formulation). I found the retreat experience valuable and now aim to do a 4-7 day retreat at least once per year. Wright has been a pioneer of video blogging and podcasting since the mid 2000s. I’ve enjoyed countless interviews on his website—Strawson on pansychism comes to mind, as does Cowen and Singer. Anecdotally, it seems as though Robert Wright’s work was an important early influence for many key figures in the rationalist and effective altruism communities. I’m inspired by Wright’s commitment to worldly intellectual life and the quiet sense of moral urgency that pervades it. I also appreciate his dry humour. Places to start: * The Moral Animal * Why Buddhism is True * [The Wright Show](https://bloggingheads.tv/programs/wrightshow) ## Todo * What are better jumping off points for Robert Wright? One of his Paul Bloom interviews? The Nonzero TED talk? I’d like to hear some of his moral animal book talks… <!-- #web/people --> <!-- {BearID:Robert Wright.md} -->