David Sloan Wilson + Jonathan Haidt

Can humans harness the power of evolution? Evolutionary biologist David Sloan Wilson argues yes. In his new book, This View of Life, Wilson uses a series of engaging stories—from the breeding of hens, to the timing of cataract surgeries, to the organization of an automobile plant—to show us that if we can become wise managers of evolutionary processes, we can solve the problems of our age at all scales, from the efficacy of our groups, to our wellbeing as individuals, to our stewardship of planet Earth. He is joined by bestselling social psychologist Jonathan Haidt (The Coddling of the American Mind) to discuss the moral implications of failing to adapt to the fast-paced changes impacting our world and ourselves.

A book signing featuring both speakers will follow the talk.

About the Speakers

David Sloan Wilson is an evolutionary biologist with a special interest in human biocultural evolution, and Distinguished Professor of Biology and Anthropology at Binghamton University. He is the author of Evolution for Everyone and The Neighborhood Project, as well as several academic books including Does Altruism Exist? and Darwin’s Cathedral. He is the president of The Evolution Institute and is the editor in chief of the institute’s online magazine This View of Life.

Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist at New York University’s Stern School of Business. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992, and taught for 16 years in the department of psychology at the University of Virginia. Haidt’s research examines the intuitive foundations of morality, and how morality varies across cultures”“”“including the cultures of American progressive, conservatives, and libertarians. Haidt is the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion and The Coddling of the American Mind, as well as The Happiness Hypothesis. At NYU-Stern, he is applying his research on moral psychology to business ethics, asking how companies can structure and run themselves in ways that will be resistant to ethical failures.