14. Peter Turchin - Beyond Belief 2008

Peter Turchin is Professor of Ecology and Mathematics at the University of Connecticut. He is the author of more than 100 articles including ten in Nature and Science. He has written five books, the latest of which is War and Peace and War: The Life Cycles of Imperial Nations, Pi Press. Much of his work concerns a new field known as cliodynamics, which attempts to discover general principles that explain the functioning and dynamics of historical societies. -- This is from the Beyond Belief 2008 conference "Candles in the Dark." As the last installment of the Beyond Belief conferences, these videos address the most pressing topics of a society that truly aims at secularism at its core. Everything from human flourishing to politics are discussed at lengths by many of the greatest living minds. The Science Network owns the rights to these videos (and I believe they can be found somewhere on Google Video as well), so if anyone should wish me to take these down, I will. I have released them here in order to provide these lectures with a broad audience. If you enjoyed these, please consider donating to The Science Network who made them possible: http://thesciencenetwork.org/membership