# 39 - The Social Paradox: Connection vs Autonomy with Professor Bill Von Hippel

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Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/clear-the-air-6093986/39-the-social-paradox-connection-vs-autonomy-with-professor-bill-von-hippel.md
Podcast: [Clear the air](https://stenobird.com/podcast/clear-the-air-6093986)
Published: 2025-12-16T21:12:26+00:00
Episode link: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/39-the-social-paradox-connection-vs-autonomy-with-professor-bill-von-hippel--69083582
Audio file: https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/69083582/clear_the_air_webinar_44_bill_von_hippel_audio.mp3
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Duration seconds: 3613

## Resource

Despite living in a world filled with freedom, convenience, and choice, many of us still feel unhappy, lonely, and unfulfilled. Why is that, and what can evolutionary psychology teach us about who we are, where we come from, and what makes us happy? This episode explores how our most basic psychological needs, for connection and for autonomy, shape the way we think, feel, and relate to others. In today’s world, these two needs can sometimes conflict with each other, and this social paradox can have a real impact on our wellbeing.We’ll also discuss how the “social leap” our distant ancestors made from the rainforest to the savannah created a new kind of social intelligence, and how they coped with stressful situations. By understanding how our history plays out in the modern environment, we can shape our lives in ways that help us feel more content, more connected, and better able to manage negative emotions. Bill's biography: Our guest today is Bill Von Hippel. After a three-decade career as a psychology professor in the United States and Australia, Bill now writes books and conducts research, publishing over 150 academic articles across a range of psychological topics. His work has been cited over fifteen thousand times in academic literature and widely reported in the media, including The New York Times ‘100 Ideas of the Year’, The Economist, The Australian and more. Bill has been a guest on numerous podcasts, including The Joe Rogan Experience, Diary of a CEO, and Modern Wisdom with Chris Williamson. Bill’s first book, The Social Leap, has been translated into a dozen different languages and received the annual Book Prize from the world’s foremost social psychology society. 00:00 - Intro 02:40 - How Bill became an expert in evolutionary psychology. 03:50 - Evolution…

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