In this episode, Dara is considering Scottish psychiatrist R.D. Laing's proposition that \"love is a cover for violence\". Informed by Game Theory and the work he did with twelve female schizophrenic patients in the 1960s, Laing came to believe the manipulative interpersonal dynamics that were playing out behind closed doors were effectively driving the Glasgow housewives mad. However, Laing concluded that the madness was a form of self-defence and arguably the only sane response to the oppressive nature of what the women were experiencing.
Dara leans into Laing's world of power and control in family relations and contextualises it within the terms of Game Theory - the idea that humans are endlessly strategising and hedging with one another as they try to achieve their personal goals while simultaneously understanding that the people they are dealing with are doing the same.
It makes Dara consider the nature of the human mind as evolved from the simian line as opposed to the canine mind which can be traced to wolves - the premise of the 2008 Mark Rowlands book - The Philosopher and the Wolf. Are humans simply evolutionarily devious and selfish? And what does that have to do with our relationship with cats and dogs?
Also in this episode, life as computer game, loving against the tide, and the spiciest toothpaste of them all!
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