Past Programs
Biology - 2005
2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2005 | 2003 | 2002
Social Prosthetics - How You're On My Mind
18/06/2005
You've heard of survival of the fittest, that waging war is 'natural', and that our altruistic tendencies are ultimately selfish in motivation. Today, these beliefs about human nature inform the machinations of everything from business culture to the classroom. But are we really hard-wired to compete? This week, the biology of caring takes centre-stage. Our relationships with others are akin to social prosthetics for the mind, argues one leading Harvard psychologist. We're hardwired to care as much as we are to compete, says another, and the clues lie in the biology of our brains.
