Does Evolution Lead Us to God?
2025 St. Albert the Great Lecture
Professor Martin Nowak
Evolution has governed life on Earth over a period of almost 4 billion years.
Mutation, selection and cooperation are the three fundamental principles of evolution. Mutation generates variation. Natural selection acts on variation. Cooperation establishes higher levels of adaptation. Dr. Nowak seeks to propose that cooperation is the master architect of biological complexity. In the human realm, cooperation is a preparation for love. Therefore, evolution prepares us for a life that is oriented toward the highest good—God.
Professor Martin Nowak
Martin Nowak is Professor of Mathematics and Biology at Harvard University. He is a leading researcher in the areas of theoretical and evolutionary biology. He has proposed that cooperation is the third fundamental principle of evolution, alongside mutation and selection. His work has helped to create fields such as evolutionary dynamics, virus dynamics, mathematical oncology, evolution of cooperation, evolutionary graph theory, and indirect reciprocity. He has published more than 500 papers and six books. Martin has given many public lectures for diverse audiences. Before coming to Harvard in 2003, he held professorships at the University of Oxford and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. His two most recent books, Beyond and Within, are contemplative studies of questions that arise at the interface of science, philosophy and religion.