John T. Cacioppo's groundbreaking research topples one of the pillars of modern medicine and psychology: the focus on the individual as the unit of inquiry. By employing brain scans, monitoring blood pressure, and analyzing immune function, he demonstrates the overpowering influence of social context...

Some actions are freer than others, and the difference is palpably important in terms of inner process, subjective perception, and social consequences. Psychology can study the difference between freer and less free actions without making dubious metaphysical commitments. Human evolution seems to have...

Deane-Drummond argues that the theological traditions of natural law and wisdom offer helpful meeting points in discussions about evolutionary "purpose" and contingency in relation to theological purpose, and serve to form the basis for a theology of nature. Natural law offers a way of describing...

We argue for attention to the evolutionary origins of economic behavior. Going beyond this, we argue that the economy of hunting and gathering was the context in which evolution shaped human characteristics that underlie modern economic behavior. We first reconsider the basic biological question of why...

Contemporary debate suggests that religious belief defies 21st century science and knowledge. Yet in her new and thought-provoking book, Celia Deane-Drummond explores the twin themes of wonder and wisdom and examines their importance in tracing a spirituality that is informed both from the perspective...

A social neuroscience perspective might help scholars build psychological models for holistic properties like wisdom. Here John Cacioppo introduces this perspective, and how it informs our understanding of humans and our social world. What Is Our Fundamental Nature? By John T. Cacioppo, Ph.D. on October...