Harvard Science Book Talk: Kathryn Paige Harden, in conversation with Rebecca R Saxe,"Original Sin: On the Genetics of Vice, the Problem of Blame, and the Future of Forgiveness"

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As one of the world’s leading scientists examining how our DNA shapes differences in temperament, temptation and behavior, Kathryn Paige Harden has seen firsthand how we—in public and in our most private relationships—continue to struggle with the ancient tensions between nature and nurture, freedom and constraint, the desire to punish and the longing to forgive.

In Original Sin, she weaves together insights from her own experience as a daughter, mother, wife, and scientist with cutting-edge research in genetics and psychology to grapple with some of the most important questions in modern life: How do we take responsibility for the people we become, knowing how we are shaped by both biology and experience? How should we respond when people hurt each other—or themselves? And has science made guilt obsolete?

Navigating the psychological and biological terrain of addiction, antisocial behavior and violence, Harden confronts the disorienting ways science unsettles our understanding of wrongdoing and choice. In doing so she asks us not to absolve, but to reckon differently with notions of fairness and blame. A revelatory inquiry into the uneasy space where human behavior meets inherited biology, Original Sin challenges us to imagine a more humane vision of accountability—for ourselves and for one another.

Kathryn Paige Harden is a professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, where she leads the Developmental Behavior Genetics lab, serves as Director of Clinical Training, and teaches Introduction to Psychology. She is the author of The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality, as well as numerous scientific publications about genetic influences on child psychological development. 

Rebecca Saxe is the John W. Jarve (1978) Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and the Associate Dean of Science at MIT. She studies the origin and structure of thought in the minds and brains of adults, children, and infants, using behavioral testing, brain imaging, and computational modeling. Her on-going research topics include what people learn from punishment, the role of generosity in social relationships, and the development of the social brain infants and toddlers.  Saxe obtained her PhD from MIT and was a Harvard Junior Fellow before joining the MIT faculty in 2006. She has received the Troland Award from the National Academy of Sciences, a Guggenheim fellowship, the MIT Committed to Caring Award for graduate mentorship and is a member of American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Organization/Sponsor: Harvard Book Store, Harvard Division of Science, and Harvard Library.
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Contact Info: science_lectures@fas.harvard.edu