Understand Contemporary Society – Insights from the World Expert in Evolutionary Biology

What can evolutionary biology tell us about gender? Can it provide a better understanding of sexuality? And how can it explain violent and abhorrent cultural practices, such as ‘honour killings’?

Robert Trivers, ‘arguably today’s most original thinker in evolutionary theory’ (Richard Dawkins) joins the how to: Academy to apply the theories of evolutionary biology to some of the most complex issues of society and identity in the contemporary world.

Using evidence gathered from decades of research, Trivers will reveal astonishing and controversial findings from the field of evolutionary biology, and explain what they tell us about people and society in the contemporary world.

Robert Trivers has been an evolutionary biologist since the autumn of 1965 when he first learned that natural selection is the key to understanding life and that it favors traits that give individuals an advantage (in producing surviving offspring).

Since then, he has devoted himself to exploring and contributing to social theory based on natural selection. His work, covering social evolution and genetics among humans and other animals, has contributed a great volume of information and theory to the understanding of humanity, frequently based on his own groundbreaking research. His continued work in the field of social theory maintains his position as an influential voice on a variety of topics – from self-deception to altruism.