Talking to the Enemy: Violent Extremism, Sacred Values, and What it Means to Be Human

Conflict Research Group/Department of Government public lecture

In this lecture Scott Atran will talk about his new book Talking to the Enemy which is a courageous exploration of one of the most contentious issues of modern times. Scott Atran asks a question that he is uniquely qualified to answer: Why would someone take their own life through suicide bombing?

Atran, a brilliant anthropologist, has spent years talking to terrorists - from Afghanistan to Gaza, Indonesia to Europe - in order to help us understand and mitigate the rise of religious violence. Here he argues persuasively that we need to consider terrorists' close relationships, with family and friends, as much as the causes they espouse, and delivers a fascinating journey into the mindsets of radicalised people in the twenty-first century. Along the way, he also provides deep insights into the history of all religions, and into their evolutionary origins. He shows us, above all, how we have come to be human.

Scott Atran is a director of research in anthropology at the National Center for Scientific Research in Paris, France. He is also a research associate and visiting professor in psychology and public policy at the University of Michigan, a Presidential Scholar in Sociology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and cofounder of ARTIS Research and Risk Modeling.

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