Clay Cressler, associate professor in the School of Biological Sciences, will give the talk "How Evolutionary Biology Helps Us Understand Human Conflict and Cooperation" on Nov. 12 at 5:00 p.m. in the Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center, Ubuntu Room/202. The event is free and open to the public and will be livestreamed on Zoom (register here).
This talk is the third in this academic year's CAS Inquire series, "War, Peace, and Reconciliation."
Can we leverage an understanding of the natural world to better understand how to promote cooperation among human societies? The question of how cooperation might evolve was one that confounded Darwin when he formulated the theory of natural selection, and we observe many examples of cooperation and spite in nature. In this talk, Cressler explores the problem of conflict and cooperation from an evolutionary perspective, offering insight into why human conflict may be on the rise, and how we could implement societal structures that might increase cooperation.
Ross Miller, political science, and Anne Duncan, classics and religious studies, gave the first two talks. Two additional talks from faculty members in history and a panel discussion with the speakers in the spring semester will complete the series.
Students in the CAS Inquire program connect with college thought leaders and other inquisitive students to discuss ideas, using a college-wide series of public lectures as a focal point. The series launched in September of 2019, and themes have included the rise of the machines, finding common ground, and pain and pleasure.
During the three-year program, CAS Inquire students take specialized courses, help with facilitating the program, and enjoy additional benefits. They can apply, or be nominated by faculty, for the program as freshmen.
