Bjørn Grinde is a Norwegian

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

and author working as a scientist in the fields of

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinians, Augustinian ...

and

evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

, with particular interests in

human evolution ''Homo sapiens'' is a distinct species of the hominid family of primates, which also includes all the great apes. Over their evolutionary history, humans gradually developed traits such as Human skeletal changes due to bipedalism, bipedalism, de ...

behaviour Behavior (American English) or behaviour (British English) is the range of actions of Individual, individuals, organisms, systems or Artificial intelligence, artificial entities in some environment. These systems can include other systems or or ...

happiness Happiness is a complex and multifaceted emotion that encompasses a range of positive feelings, from contentment to intense joy. It is often associated with positive life experiences, such as achieving goals, spending time with loved ones, ...

and

consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is awareness of a state or object, either internal to oneself or in one's external environment. However, its nature has led to millennia of analyses, explanations, and debate among philosophers, scientists, an ...

Early life and education

He was born and grew up in Oslo, Norway, but spent a year as a high-school exchange student at Michigan, USA, in 1969. He studied natural sciences as well as

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

, and pedagogics at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

, resulting in a Dr.scient (1981) and a Dr.philos (1984) in biology from the same university.

Work roles

Grinde has worked as a scientist and professor at leading universities in Norway, USA, and Japan. Before his retirement, he worked as a senior scientist at the Division of Mental and Physical Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

Areas of interest and research

Molecular evolution

Some of his earlier projects focused on

molecular evolution Molecular evolution describes how Heredity, inherited DNA and/or RNA change over evolutionary time, and the consequences of this for proteins and other components of Cell (biology), cells and organisms. Molecular evolution is the basis of phylogen ...

, using viruses as a model system.

Human behavioral biology

For the later part of his career, the focus has been on understanding how evolution has shaped the human brain with particular reference to what

is and why it serves us positive and negative experiences. The field of science is related to

evolutionary psychology Evolutionary psychology is a theoretical approach in psychology that examines cognition and behavior from a modern evolutionary perspective. It seeks to identify human psychological adaptations with regard to the ancestral problems they evolved ...

. One aim is to find ways to improve

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

and

quality of life Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...

. The approach is based on the idea that natural selection has shaped the human brain; consequently, our evolutionary history has an impact on feelings and behavior. Our brain evolved to serve hunting and gathering behavior in tribal (Stone Age) groups, it is therefore not optimal for the present way of living. Fortunately, humans have the most adaptive and moldable brain of any species, the aim of society should therefore be to create an environment that makes the most of our inherent qualities nature. Grinde suggests that happiness is best understood as a question of the net level of positive and negative feelings. Feelings are primarily initiated by the unconscious brain, but can be modified by conscious effort, thus it is possible to improve on happiness by exercising the brain and by seeking an appropriate environment. One strategy as to brain exercise is to use meditative techniques and include words or sentences (by 'self-talk') that activate either the capacity to turn off negative feelings or to turn on positive feelings. He has published some 170 scientific articles and several books. Some of his work has been translated to Italian, Arabic, and Chinese. He has lectured on this topic around the world.

Selected books

*2002/2012: ''Evolution as a Guide for Living and Understanding Human Behavior'', Darwin Press (translated to Italian in 2015) * 2011: ''God - A Scientific Update'', Darwin Press * 2012: ''The Biology of Happiness'', Springer *2015: ''Alternative Ways of Living: The Human Zoo'', Darwin Press *2016: ''The Evolution of Consciousness. Implications for Mental Health and Quality of Life'', Springer *2023: ''SEX - The Pleasure and the Pain'', Pleasure Press

References

Profile at the Norwegian Research Publication Database (CRISTIN)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grinde, Bjoern 1952 births Living people 21st-century Norwegian biologists University of Oslo alumni Academic staff of the University of Oslo