Sex and Culture
by Gerhard Lenski
Mentioned once across 1 show · first heard Jan 2026 on Digital Social Hour.
The general take
Seth Gruber finds "Sex and Culture" compelling as a serious historical work, emphasizing that J.D. Unwin's 1934 study is data-driven research across 86 civilizations rather than opinion-based commentary. He seems impressed by its scope and thinks it's interesting material that podcast audiences would appreciate.
About
In Sex and Culture (1934), Unwin studied 80 primitive tribes and 6 known civilizations through 5,000 years of history and found a positive correlation between the cultural achievement of a people and the sexual restraint they observe.
Who said what
- SG
Seth Gruber👍 Recommends
…discussing historical research on cultural decline through sexual liberation patterns
“Have you ever heard of J.D. Unwin? No. This is fascinating, dude. Your listeners will love this. He writes a book called Sex and Culture in 1934. Yeah. So 91 years ago. He's a sociologist, anthropologist, historian. He's doing a study. It's data. It's not commentary. It's not like an opinion book he's writing on why cultures die. He studied 86 civilizations over 5,000 years asking the question, why do societies flourish and why do they decline or die?”
Digital Social Hour — Seth Gruber: The Science Behind Why Indulgence Destroys Societies | DSH #1792at 08:44
Listener reviews
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