John Wylie ’64 discusses

“The War Mind and the Wink:
How healthy human needs can be turned toward an enemy, and what keeps an opponent from becoming one”

October 5, 2026

Hello Classmates:

Our next Class Authors Zoom meeting will be December 3rd at 4:00 Eastern time. The session will feature classmate John Wylie, who was a psychiatrist for thirty-five years. After retiring 19 years ago John set out to understand how human nature evolved, from our primate ancestry through to the emotions and motivations he had seen in psychiatric practice. Gus Speth will moderate the session.

John challenges the familiar story that competition is the hard foundation of human nature and decency is only a fragile restraint. He argues that several capacities central to human social life evolved long before civilization, including attachment, fairness, and the wish to matter. Thousands of years ago, these older systems were captured and turned toward rivalry between groups. These trends grew into what John calls the “War Mind.”

John explores what can keep rivalry from hardening into enmity: two men working together on a project; rival fans at a football game; and how a wink can help keep a rival from becoming an enemy.

As background, we encourage you to read the following:

• John’s recent essay in The Montreal Review summarizes his view of The War Mind
• Another essay discusses the science underlying his presentation
• The working manuscript of The War Mind is unpublished and still in progress, but gives a much fuller account of the argument, its scope, and the supporting references and scientific material.

Registration for the event is required. Classmate spouses and partners are welcome to attend. Register for the event by clicking on the following link:

Register by clicking here

Once registered, you’ll receive a confirmation email with a link to the Zoom meeting. That link will be unique to you. On the day before the event you’ll be sent the link again as a reminder.

Don’t miss it!