Dominic Johnson received a D.Phil. in evolutionary biology from Oxford University and a Ph.D. in political science from Geneva University. He draws on both disciplines in his work on the role of religion in the evolution of cooperative behavior, the role of evolutionary psychology in political decision-making, and how evolutionarily-based lessons from Nature can help us improve human security in the face of threats like climate change, natural disasters, and terrorism.

He is an Associate Professor at the University of Edinburgh and has published two books./ (Harvard University Press, 2004) argues that common psychological biases to maintain overly positive images of our capabilities, our control over events, and the future, play a key role in the causes of war. / (Harvard University Press, 2006), with Dominic Tierney, examines how and why popular misperceptions commonly create undeserved victories or defeats in international wars and crises.

Past Events

• What It Means to Be Human The Enigma of Altruism

  2009 Festival

  Alan Alda hosts E.O. Wilson, Sarah Hrdy and other leading evolutionary biologists, anthropologists and humanitarians as they examine the origins and evolution of human cooperative behavior.

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• WSF Spotlight 2009

  2009 Festival

  An intimate, cabaret-style setting provides an unobstructed glimpse into the minds of some of the world’s most inspired thinkers.

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