Saint Helena Virtual Forum
Altruism
The Science of Doing Good
Is it a source of joy or is it selfishness?
Dr. Abigail Marsh in conversation with Journalist David Freed
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Dr. Abigail Marsh is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program at Georgetown University. Abby received a PhD in Social Psychology from Harvard University in 2004 and afterward conducted post-doctoral research at the National Institute of Mental Health. Now she directs the Laboratory on Social & Affective Neuroscience, research in which is aimed at addressing questions that include: How do people understand what others think and feel? What drives us to help other people? What prevents us from harming them? Dr. Marsh studies this using multiple approaches that include functional and structural brain imaging in adolescents and adults from both typical and special populations, as well as behavioral, cognitive, genetic, and pharmacological methods. Current research projects include online, behavioral, and brain imaging investigations of a variety of populations, including typical adults and children, highly altruistic adults (including those who have donated kidneys to strangers), and adults and children who have serious conduct problems and psychopathic traits. In 2020 Dr. Marsh co-founded the non-profit Psychopathy Is to address the need for research and screening and treatment of this common disorder that impacts 1 in 100 people.
David Freed is a former adjunct professor in the Department of Journalism and Media Communications at Colorado State University, He holds a master's degree in extension studies from Harvard University and also teaches creative writing as an instructor at Harvard Extension School.
Beginning in 1990, while writing for the Los Angeles Times, David wrote a series of articles that highlighted flaws in Los Angeles County's criminal justice system, including overcrowded county jails and poor enforcement of lesser crimes.This series made Freed a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. Freed also shared the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Reporting with fellow staff writers at the newspaper for reportage on the Rodney King riots in 1992.
Freed has also written mystery-thriller novels centered on a protagonist named Cordell Logan, as well a several screenplays for Hollywood. David has done a number of interviews for the Forum and he is also a licensed and avid pilot.
This new forum is a bookend to the discussion of Hate and the interview of Dr. Matthew Williams, the Director of Hate Lab, the Social Data Science Lab, and Professor of Criminology in the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University. That discussion and other previous interviews can be viewed here . These two year-end interviews by David Freed delve into topics that are particularly concerning at the moment.
You can view dozens of past forum interviews at the View Past Forum heading above or at this link:
