Philosophy Science Psychology Society Culture

DonateNewsletterSIGN IN

DPB

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).

Website

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.

essayConsciousness 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.

essayEvolution

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

essayCosmology

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.

essayWar 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.

essayReligion

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.

essayBiology

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.

essayAnimals and humans

Animal magnetism

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

David P Barash

A man with face paint, adorned with vibrant feathers, looking back over his shoulder in a dimly lit setting with blurred background.

essayEvolution

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

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

essayConsciousness 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.

essayEcology 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

David P Barash has also published 2 articles on