Dr Peter Woodford

(Zoology Department, University of Cambridge)

Monday 3rd July

7.30 – 8.45 pm

Trinity Meeting Place,

Holy Trinity Church, Essex Street,

Norwich NR2 2BJ

Why be nice rather than selfish? Since Darwin, altruism has been a special puzzle in the study of evolution but at the same time it has been a central value in Western ethical and religious thought for centuries. In this talk, Dr Peter Woodford will explain why altruism has been a puzzle for evolutionary thinking, and how new developments in the sciences have tried to resolve it. He will discuss examples of scientific research into altruism in both animals and humans. Finally he will offer some reflections on how this topic might lead us to think about the relationship between science and religion and its Implications for ethics and morality.

All welcome No booking required Retiring collection