This is an ICA event, sign up via the ICA website: ICA Young Professionals - The neuroscience of morality
Our modern society can seem like a true ‘survival of the fittest’ at times. This is how we often think about biology too. Every organism is fighting to crush its enemy and come out on top, right? Actually, it’s not so simple. If we look a little more closely, we see that evolution often favors kindness and empathy over unforgiving competition. In this talk, we will explore what this evolutionary history means for the modern human brain.
We will get personal by participating in several small experiments, using economic game dilemmas to map out our own (anti)social preferences. When push comes to shove, do you choose short-term personal gain or a risky collaboration with others? How might others explore our weaknesses? And can we apply this science to solve the unprecedented cooperation problems that we face, such as climate change?
In this hands-on and (potentially) revealing lecture, Jeroen van Baar highlights recent insights from neuroeconomics, revealing that the most ‘fitness’ actually comes from finding the most effective ways to work together—making the most of our moral brain.