Iranian thinker
Aref Ebadi
Aref EbadiPolitical Theory, Evolutionary Psychology, and Cultural EvolutionIranianb. 1985
Life and Thought
Aref Ebadi received his PhD in Political Theory from the University of Nottingham. His doctoral dissertation, titled Scepticism, Evolution and Conservatism in the Thought of F. A. Hayek, examines the relationship between skepticism, cultural evolution, and conservatism in the thought of Friedrich Hayek.
After earning his PhD, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Cambridge in the fields of evolutionary psychology and cultural evolution. He currently works at the Royal Alberta Museum.
His articles and research reviews have been published in international journals, including Political Studies Review and Economics & Philosophy. He is also a member of the American Psychological Association (APA), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and the Science Writers & Communicators of Canada (SWCC).
Research Areas
His research interests focus on political theory, evolutionary psychology, and cultural evolution. A significant part of his research addresses how human cognitive traits and evolutionary processes play a role in the formation of culture, social institutions, and political order.
In the field of political theory, his focus is on the British conservative tradition, particularly the thought of Michael Oakeshott and Friedrich Hayek. His research deals with topics such as spontaneous order, the rule of law, the limits of state power, and the critique of constructivist rationalism, viewing social institutions as the product of historical processes, trial and error, and the gradual accumulation of knowledge and practical experience.
In the field of evolutionary sciences, his research focuses on evolutionary psychology, cultural evolution, and the neurological foundations of perception. He investigates how a shared cognitive architecture, in interaction with different environments, leads to diverse behavioral and cultural patterns, and how these processes play a role in the formation, persistence, and transformation of social institutions.
