Evolutionary Benefits of False Beliefs? (Forum for European Philosophy “Consilience” dialogue)

The human mind produces countless biases, illusions and predictable errors. Are such false beliefs adaptive? Had they evolved for a reason? From overconfidence to the illusion of control, the speakers will argue that false beliefs can provide the individual with an advantage in domains ranging from war and politics to health and finance. But how do such beliefs affect us as a society?

Dominic Johnson is Alastair Buchan Professor of International Relations at the University of Oxford.

Ryan McKay is Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Royal Holloway, University of London.

Chair: Tali Sharot is Director of the Affective Brain Lab and Reader in the Department of Experimental Psychology, UCL and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

Suggested hashtag for this event for Twitter users: #LSEbeliefs