01-20-2020, 01:37 PM
Here is the greatly improved generational hormone theory that is based on the Strauss-Howe generational theory: https://jannemiettinen.fi/FourthTurning/
What's different to before is that the sex hormones are now included (chapter 5), and chapter 3.2.7 includes an explanation how the social hormones cause birth cohorts to lean left or right on the political spectrum. This theory still largely negates the suggestion made by Strauss & Howe that 'social dynamics' explain the generational cycle, and explains why the generational cycle is actually an oscillating generational hormone cycle.
The premise is quite simple: the social hormones (oxytocin and vasopressin) are in high amounts during the 4th turning, and this causes the groups to tighten. This is what Strauss & Howe are explaining in their books, because a 4th turning basically comprises of tightening groups, and thus tightening intergroup relations. This is explained in chapter 2, and expanded further in chapter 4.
I've received good feedback from many professors, like from Robin Dunbar, who is the emeritus professor of evolutionary psychology at the University of Oxford, who was kind enough to send me a three page reply on the matter. (The biggest open questions surrounding the theory are vasopressin's behavioral effects and finding the generational vasopressin levels.) So the theory has been checked and found to be plausible by many experts in their fields. But what do people on this forum think about it? Is there anything in the Strauss-Howe generational theory that this generational hormone theory can't explain?
There's also a PDF-version available for download.
What's different to before is that the sex hormones are now included (chapter 5), and chapter 3.2.7 includes an explanation how the social hormones cause birth cohorts to lean left or right on the political spectrum. This theory still largely negates the suggestion made by Strauss & Howe that 'social dynamics' explain the generational cycle, and explains why the generational cycle is actually an oscillating generational hormone cycle.
The premise is quite simple: the social hormones (oxytocin and vasopressin) are in high amounts during the 4th turning, and this causes the groups to tighten. This is what Strauss & Howe are explaining in their books, because a 4th turning basically comprises of tightening groups, and thus tightening intergroup relations. This is explained in chapter 2, and expanded further in chapter 4.
I've received good feedback from many professors, like from Robin Dunbar, who is the emeritus professor of evolutionary psychology at the University of Oxford, who was kind enough to send me a three page reply on the matter. (The biggest open questions surrounding the theory are vasopressin's behavioral effects and finding the generational vasopressin levels.) So the theory has been checked and found to be plausible by many experts in their fields. But what do people on this forum think about it? Is there anything in the Strauss-Howe generational theory that this generational hormone theory can't explain?
There's also a PDF-version available for download.