Offaly-born evolutionary psychologist publishes new book

A renowned US evolutionary psychologist who was born just outside Birr has published a new book which examines what it means to be human.

“The Human Beast – through the lens of evolution” is the latest book from the pen of prolific cross-national researcher and writer, Nigel Barber, who hails from the townsland of Ballykealy, about six miles from Birr, and has lived in the United States for almost 40 years.

The book is a series of short essays which covers a wide range of topics, including the last year of wokeism, protest, pandemic and authoritarian rule, and examines them through the prism of evolution.

Looking at the many unique challenges that Covid has wrought on the world over the past eighteen months, Nigel Barber asks a number of questions of his readers, including ‘how good are people at changing in response to political crises, the internet environment, relationship conflict, secular threats to religion and social unfairness?

He argues that the answers to these questions, and many others, is rooted in our evolutionary past, and “The Human Beast” reveals how much of our contemporary thoughts and actions come into focus through the lens of evolution.

Nigel Barber is the only son of the late George and Rebecca Barber, and he moved to New York in 1982 where he obtained a Doctorate in Biological Psychology from Hunter College, having completed a BA in English at Trinity College, Dublin.

The Barber family still have a very strong connection to Birr, where Nigel’s sister, Gina, runs the Print Factory with her husband, Brendan Dooley. He also has two other sisters, Lorna and Irene.

As well as being a prolific writer and researcher during his time in the US, Nigel Barber has also taught psychology at Bemidji State University in Minnesota and in Birmingham Southern College in Alabama. He has published a large number of books on a wide range of interesting topics such as “Why Parents Matter;” “The Science of Romance;” “Kindness in a Cruel World;” “Why Atheism Will Replace Religion” and “The Myth of Culture.”

His latest book “The Human Beast” is both edited and published by his wife, Trudy Callaghan, who is a native of county Meath, and is an accomplished musician in her own right who performs traditional music sessions for audiences in Portland, Maine where she and Nigel have made their home in the US. The couple have one son, David, who lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with his wife and daughter.