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Monday 3rd February - 07:20 PM GMT

The making and unmaking of humanity

Harnessing our biases for a better world

Could our evolutionary past be imperilling our future? In his most recent book Inheritance, the pioneering Oxford anthropologist Harvey Whitehouse argues that humans have evolved three primary biases through natural and cultural selection: conformism, religiosity, and tribalism. But though these biases once proved invaluable, today they are driving humanity to ruin. Join Harvey Whitehouse as he discusses how we got here and what can do to harness these evolved biases for good.

Timetable:

17:20 GMT - Reason, replication, and reality The Lounge

18:00 GMT - Unmasking the Mind arena

19:20 GMT - The making and unmaking of humanity arena

19:30 GMT - Liv Dawn arena

Harvey Whitehouse

Pioneering anthropologist

Regarded as one of the founders of the cognitive science of religion, Harvey Whitehouse is a statutory Chair in Social Anthropology at the University of Oxford. Whitehouse's research deals primarily with religion in rituals. He is especially well known for his theory of "modes of religiosity" which proposes that the frequency and emotionality of rituals determine the scale and structure of religious organisations.

He is the author of several books, including Inheritance and The Ritual Animal. His popular writing has appeared in the BBC, New Scientist, and many more publications.