What drives political behavior? Is political behavior “rational”? Why do individuals act against their political interests? And what exactly are one’s political interests, and how are they developed? Attempts to answer questions such as these nearly always come back to the central role of emotion as the primary generator of political behavior. But how does this happen? Does emotion drive rational political behavior? Is emotion a force for good politics or does emotion simply serve as a foundation for demagoguery? These issues will be addressed in the 2026 UC Irvine Center for Neuropolitics Annual Symposium. This year’s Jerrold Post Lecture on Neuropolitics will be given by Professor Antonio Damasio, who for more than three decades has led the efforts to understand the relationship between emotion and rational behavior. Professor Damasio’s Jerrold Post Lecture on Neuropolitics is titled “The Biology of Consciousness and the Public Square.”

The symposium is free and hosted virtually. All are welcome to attend. To register, please use the following link: https://uci.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_BudAKNDITgmbroj1ABH2Wg. For more information, please visit our website: https://sites.uci.edu/centerforneuropolitics/.