Medical expert and renowned author, John V. Wylie MD, is in the author spotlight.
John holds a BA in history from Yale, an MD from Columbia, and completed a psychiatric residency at Georgetown University. He began his career at a maximum-security prison in Maryland, followed by 35 years in the private practice of psychiatry in Washington, DC, where he served as chair of the department of psychiatry at Sibley Memorial Hospital. John was a founding member of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society, has had a longstanding interest in the relationship of mental illness and human evolution, and has given multiple lectures on the topic.
John has written, Diagnosing and Treating Mental Illness: A Guide for Physicians, Nurses, Patients, and Their Families, published in 2010 (second edition, 2012), Ape Mind, Old Mind, New Mind in 2018, which is a memoir of the development of his ideas, and Emotional Fossils: Mental Illness and Human Evolution, which is a summary of his thinking in 2020. In December 2023 he published a book titled The Evolution of Human Motivations: An AI-Illustrated Odyssey.
Through the book The Evolution of Human Motivations, John provides psychological insight. He looks at societal shifts and factors and speaks about our wants and motivations. He discusses the importance of applying empathy and offering encouragement. Every paragraph is a succinct summary of his ideas and is illustrated by an image rendered by Chat GPT-4 & DALL-E-3.
John, what do you believe is the strongest human motivation?
The core human motivation is our inherent drive towards teamwork, which has been our key evolutionary advantage. This work challenges outdated Darwinian views by highlighting that, across our six-million-year history, justice has been crucial for enabling teamwork, while the pursuit of truth is what our collective efforts aim to ascertain for survival. These principles have underpinned the success of our ancestors. However, it's essential to note that the tendencies towards vanity and divisiveness, specific to Homo sapiens, endanger these foundational virtues, presenting significant challenges for our society's ability to maintain cooperation and collective understanding.
Please tell us a little about how you find complex trauma influencing motivation.
My recent focus has been on evolutionary patterns and societal trends. I've found that warfare, a relatively new phenomenon in human evolutionary history, has shaped our environment since the last glacial period, favoring those who exhibit aggression and group animosity. This shift opposes our deep-seated inclinations towards fairness and truth, suggesting that the trauma from perpetual conflict fosters motivations aligned with warfare.
How has COVID-19 affected psychological well-being and the treatment for mental illness?
The pandemic has underscored our innate fear of contagion, a survival trait honed by millennia of facing epidemics. I propose that the perception of mental illness symptoms as invasive stems from their unconscious resonance with emotions and motivations intimately known to us all. My work delves into this resonant connection, aiming to transform the fear of contagion into empathetic understanding by highlighting the shared nature of these experiences. Through this insight, we can foster a deeper empathy for those experiencing mental illness, reframing it within the context of our collective human experience and significantly reducing stigma.
Can you tell us a little about melancholy and how feelings of not being worthwhile or feelings of guilt play into poor well-being?
The term melancholy refers to a specific “major’' kind of depression I discuss at length in the book. Feelings of worthlessness and guilt, though painful, serve a purpose in guiding us away from inaction. The challenge lies in breaking the cycle of inactivity and negative self-perception without resorting to medical intervention. Therapy and support focus on engaging in meaningful activities to counter these feelings.
Life is full of complex situations with many different factors influencing it. It appears there are times we may feel an imbalance due to our vulnerabilities and the competition for multiple goals. Can you speak about the need to take a break to destress and recharge?
My career has been dedicated to understanding what really drives us to achieve our goals, which I've identified as the pursuit of others' esteem. It's crucial to periodically disengage from our endeavors, not just for relaxation, but to evaluate our actions. This reflection helps identify what energizes us versus what drains us, guiding necessary adjustments.
Who are you currently reading?
A great medical writer, Dr. Richard Restak: The Complete Guide to Memory: The Science of Strengthening Your Mind
Is there anything you want readers to know?
One of the guiding quotes in my book is by E.O. Wilson, highlighting our unity as a species through shared heritage and future. This perspective offers a hopeful narrative on human evolution, and, more importantly, human nature, aiming to counteract pessimism with an optimistic outlook on our collective journey.