Robert Wright is an American author and journalist whose work weaves together philosophy, science, psychology, history and religion. He was born in Lawton, Oklahoma, and raised in a Southern Baptist household; as a self-described “Army brat,” he lived in various parts of the U.S. before studying sociobiology at Princeton University. His writing is known for making complex ideas—such as evolutionary psychology or game-theoretic models of cooperation—accessible to general readers, most notably in his books The Moral Animal, Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny and The Evolution of God.
Beyond his books, Wright has carved out a distinctive media-and-ideas presence. He taught courses at Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania, focusing on the intersections of science and religion. He co-founded the online forum and video platform Bloggingheads.tv, which brought scholars, scientists and public intellectuals into conversational dialogue on current ideas. His work often argues that human morality, religion and society are not just cultural accidents but rooted in deeper evolutionary and game-theoretic dynamics—and that understanding these dynamics can help us navigate the challenges of our globalizing era.
