Dr. Chris Krupenye, SNF Agora faculty affiliate and Assistant Professor, Psychological and Brain Sciences at Johns Hopkins
Within human societies, power and politics shape the lives of individuals and the interactions of social groups. In order to promote tolerant and democratic societies, we must understand the psychology that underlies human politics and the factors that drive cooperation and competition between groups. While human politics are exceedingly complex and deeply influenced by culture and language, simpler political systems may provide a window into the foundational mechanisms that shape human politics. Excitingly, our closest primate relatives have also been characterized as ‘political’ and even ‘Machiavellian.’ This allows us to ask which components of human political cognition and psychology set our species apart, as a result of our unique evolutionary and cultural history? And which did we inherit from the evolutionary ancestors we share with other apes? Through studies of humans’ closest relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos, I show that rich foundations of our political cognition – for tracking relationships and perspectives – are shared with other apes. These capacities have likely shaped the politics of our species and our ancestors for millions of years.
Where: SNF Agora Conference Room, Wyman N325F, and Zoom