Loss of societal cohesion and the erosion of trust in institutions and leaders are globally recurrent problems, linked to the way in which advertising and the media shape the news we consume and the ways in which this is exploited by populists, disrupters, and conspiracy theorists. Research at Oxford’s Centre for the Study of Social Cohesion sheds light on how our moral intuitions and group identities are implicated in these processes but also how they might provide a key to reversing their destructive effects. New research in the cognitive and evolutionary sciences is showing how our evolved psychology can be used not only negatively to deepen divisions and undermine trust but also more positively to solve the greatest cooperation problems facing humanity today: from preventing intergroup conflict to managing the environment more effectively and increasing the legitimacy of democratic institutions. ​

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About the speaker

Harvey Whitehouse, Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Magdalen College, is Director Oxford’s Centre for the Study of Social Cohesion and a founding director of Seshat, a vast database on human history that enables scholars and scientists to test hypotheses about the rise and fall of human civilizations. His many books include The Ritual Animal (2021, OUP) and Inheritance: The Evolutionary Origins of the Modern World (2024, Penguin Random House).

About the moderator

Dr. William Wan is a lawyer, theologian, and community leader with a distinguished career spanning law, academia, non-profit leadership, and public service. He has over 15 years of legal experience and 35 years of leadership in not-for-profit organisations. Dr. Wan has served in advisory and board roles across educational institutions, government committees, and civil society organisations. He is perhaps best known for being the former General Secretary of the Singapore Kindness Movement, and remains an active advocate for social cohesion and volunteerism.