Sunday, October 23, 2011

Robert Trivers - Why Do We Deceive Ourselves?

This is an interesting talk from Robert Trivers speaking at the RSA.

Why Do We Deceive Ourselves?

4th Oct 2011

Listen to the audio (full recording including audience Q&A)

Please right-click link and choose "Save Link As..." to download audio file onto your computer.

RSA Keynote


Widely regarded as one of the world's most influential evolutionary biologists, Robert Trivers has made pioneering contributions to our understanding of the evolutionary roots of social behaviour. His seminal work in sociobiology, Darwinian social science, and behavioural ecology has influenced that of many others, including Richard Dawkins and E.O. Wilson.

At the RSA, Robert Trivers will address the question of why we lie to others, and to our ourselves.

Are we doomed to indulge in fantasies, inflate our egos, and show off? Can we correct our own biases? And is it even a good idea to battle self-deception?

Speaker: Robert L. Trivers, Professor of Anthropology and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University and author of Deceit and Self-Deception: Fooling ourselves to better fool others.

Chair: Dr Jonathan Rowson, the RSA Social Brain project.

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