Morality Explained: the new science of right and wrong - with Oliver Scott Curry

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In 1871’s Descent of Man, Darwin applied his theory of evolution to human nature, and to morality. He argued that ‘the so-called moral sense is originally derived from the social instincts’, and that ‘any animal whatever, endowed with well-marked social instincts…would inevitably acquire a moral sense or conscience, as soon as its intellectual powers had become as well, or nearly as well developed, as in man’.

This new science of right and wrong answers such questions as: How do ‘selfish genes’ make selfless people? Are there ‘genes for’ morality? When does morality emerge in children? How many moral values are there? Are there any universal moral rules, found in all cultures? How and why do individuals and societies have different moral values? And what does science tell us about how we ought to behave?

Morality is deeply rooted in human nature, part of our evolutionary heritage. A hopeful message in a period when we are relying on one another more than usual, to overcome the common challenge of covid.

Dr Oliver Scott Curry will be joining us to discuss the latest scientific explanation of morality. We will see his talk, originally given as the national Darwin Day lecture in 2021, before Oliver Scott Curry joins us to answer questions.

Dr Oliver Scott Curry is Research Director for Kindlab, at kindness.org. He is also a Research Affiliate at the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, University of Oxford, and a Research Associate at the Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science, at the London School of Economics. He received his PhD from LSE in 2005.