Pathways to Peace

This innovative and groundbreaking volume is replete with remarkable ideas from leading multidisciplinary thinkers on how the science of early childhood development can facilitate the important and daunting quest for the promotion of a peaceful global citizenry.

Dante Cicchetti, William Harris Professor of Child Development and Psychiatry, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota

Beginning in utero and throughout childhood, the human brain responds to its environment, reshaping neural connections in line with social experience. But war and other traumas that threaten security distort these processes. Today, with more children than ever before growing up in conflict zones, the implications extend far beyond the suffering of individuals to encompass the rearing environments of future generations and the societies they will compose. In this authoritative, integrative, first-of-its-kind compilation, neuroscientists, psychiatrists, anthropologists, economists, and experts on child development from around the world explore child-rearing environments and policies most likely to mitigate trauma, promote emotional regulation and sensitivity to others, and encourage the formation of positive social relationships.

Sarah B. Hrdy, author of Mothers and Others: The Evolutionary Origins of Mutual Understanding

In this thoughtful collection of essays top scholars across diverse fields—from child development to neuroscience and cultural anthropology—join to shed new light on the question that has baffled humans since the dawn of civilization: how to make the world a place of peace and collaboration and reduce aggression and violence. Their answer intriguingly suggests that peace begins at home and is rooted in the infant's earliest experiences. Society that strives for peace must attend to its infants, help develop healthy brains, and support parents in carrying this difficult task. A courageous book integrating science and humanity!

Ruth Feldman, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Bar-Ilan University and Yale University