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David P Barash

Professor of Psychology Emeritus, University of Washington

David P Barash is an evolutionary biologist and emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Washington in Seattle. His most recent books are Oops!: The Worst Blunders of All Time (2023, Skyhorse Publishing), Peace and Conflict Studies, 5th ed (2022, Oxford Univ Press), and Threats: Intimidation and its Discontents (2020, OUP) and Through a Glass Brightly: Using Science to See Our Species as We Really Are (2018, OUP), plus with his wife, the psychiatrist Judith Eve Lipton, Strength Through Peace: How Demilitarization Led to Peace and Happiness in Costa Rica, and What the Rest of the World Can Learn from a Tiny, Tropical Nation (2018, OUP).

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Written by David P Barash

Painting of a silhouetted figure sitting in front of two windows, with a glowing outline emphasizing their form in a dark room.

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Consciousness and altered states

Stuck with the soul

The idea of the soul is obviously a nonsense, yet its immaterial mysterious nature has deep hooks in the human psyche

David P Barash

Coloured scanning electron micrograph of a tardigrade, or water bear, a small creature with clawed arms crawling on moss.

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Evolution

Life is tough

Human life is fragile but tardigrades and other extremophiles show that life itself is in little danger of disappearing

David P Barash

Photo of two boys on surfboards in the sea with one waving towards a rocket ascent leaving a trail in the clear blue sky

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Cosmology

Anthropic arrogance

Claims that the Universe is designed for humans raise far more troubling questions than they can possibly answer

David P Barash

A nuclear explosion at night with bright red and yellow flames, a mushroom cloud and light trails on the left side.

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War and peace

The deterrence myth

Nuclear deterrence continues to dominate international relations. Yet there is no proof it ever worked, nor that it ever will

David P Barash

A family of gorillas sitting close together in dense foliage, with green leaves surrounding them.

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Religion

Is God a silverback?

Protective, omnipotent, scary and very territorial. The monotheistic God is modelled on a harem-keeping alpha male

David P Barash

Antique painting of a Tyrannosaurus rex with feathers, standing on a cliffs looking out to sea with a neutral background.

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Biology

Paradigms lost

Science is not a ‘body of knowledge’ – it’s a dynamic, ongoing reconfiguration of knowledge and must be free to change

David P Barash

A child in a red jacket looking through a glass at a fish in an aquarium with bubbles and particles in the water.

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Animals and humans

Animal magnetism

Humans are fascinated by our fellow animals – is that just an evolutionary hangover or something more profound?

David P Barash

Photo of a person with face paint, adorned with vibrant feathers, looking back over their shoulder in a dimly lit setting with blurred background.

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Evolution

Is there a war instinct?

Many evolutionists believe that humans have a drive for waging war. But they are wrong and the idea is dangerous

David P Barash

A photo of a group of men in Western attire standing outside Ranch Saloon in a historical town setting, some holding weapons.

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Consciousness and altered states

Mind readers

Human awareness of our own minds and others’ is unlike that of any other animal. But why did consciousness evolve?

David P Barash

Vultures standing on dry grass with snowy hills in the background under a clear sky.

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Ecology and environmental sciences

Only connect

Buddhism and ecology both refuse to separate the human and natural worlds – and demand that we act accordingly

David P Barash

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