Keith Payne

Keith Payne is an author known for his captivating work on the psychology of war and violence. His novels, essays, and non-fiction books cover a number of big topics, from the importance of empathy to how to restore peace in the aftermath of conflict. Payne’s writings have helped shape discussions of war, peace and morality in our society.

Biography

Payne was born in Indiana in 1971 and grew up in Oklahoma, where he attended the University of Tulsa and received a degree in Psychology in 1993. He then attended Johns Hopkins University, where he received a master’s degree in cognitive psychology in 1995 and a Ph.D in cognitive psychology in 1998. Payne holds faculty, adjunct and research positions at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University, Harvard University, Brown University and the University of Texas at Austin.

Payne’s career started out with the goal of gaining personal insight about the psychology of war. After his graduate studies, Payne joined the U.S. Army as a Research Psychologist, working on the Cognitive Science Team of the Armed Forces Research Institute of Behavioral Science. During this time, Payne and his team studied the stresses of combat, the implications of advanced technology on war, and the psychological effects of deployment on service members.

Writing Career

Payne has received critical acclaim for his writing on these topics. His 2014 book The Broken Ladder: How Inequality Affects the Way We Think, Live, and Die was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Wellcome Book Prize, and the 2015 Pulitzer Prize. His 2018 book Precarious Life: The Power of Mourning and Violence explores how societies cope with tragedies and how American foreign policy might address the problem of international terrorism better through a focus on social reconciliation.

Payne has also released several essays, which were compiled and released as an anthology entitled In The Moment of Decision: Values in Action in 2018. Through this collection, Payne examines the values and decisions that shape our collective experience. He explores ideas ranging from the power of empathy to the importance of collective responsibility in the pursuit of justice.

Implications of Payne’s Work

More than just for entertainment, Payne’s work has been influential in society in both scholarly and practical senses. Neuroscience of free will, an area of research that Payne’s writing spotlights, has been impacted by his work. Highly-cited, Payne’s book summarizes the evidence of how and by what process individuals select among the many possible conscious choices, and how and why those choices vary depending on the exact context. His work has also had implications for the study of disaster psychology, race and gender issues in the military sphere, and on using lessons to prevent the re-emergence of violence in post-conflict societies.

Payne’s writing has also had social implications, as readers become inspired to think more deeply about the causes and costs of violence. Many of Payne’s readers find themselves questioning their own worldviews and learning more about the overall aspects of conflict and violence. They are challenged to confront the moral implications of their decisions and the cost of violence to society. Payne provides solutions both to heal the mental trauma caused by violence and to build resilience in individuals and groups.

Conclusion

Keith Payne is an influential author who has successfully combined his scientific knowledge with literature to explore important questions about war, peace and morality. His writing impacts readers on individual, group and social levels, causing them to take a deeper look at the choices they are making. Payne’s work reveals the deep and often unseen implications of violence and war, leading readers to ask hard questions and think critically about their own views.