Ian Robertson

A neuroscientist and trained clinical psychologist, Ian Robertson is an international expert on neuropsychology. Currently Professor of Psychology at Trinity College Dublin, and formerly Fellow of Hughes Hall, Cambridge, he holds visiting professorships at the University of Toronto, University College London and the University of Wales. He is a member of the Royal Irish Academy and has published over 250 scientific articles in leading journals. He is also the author and editor of ten scientific books and three books for the general reader, most recently, The Winner Effect. He is a keynote speaker at conferences on brain function throughout the world.
The Age of the Demagogue
“Strongman politics are ascendant”, Barack Obama wrote recently: “The politics of fear and resentment… is now on the move”.  From America to China, from Europe to Brazil, in India and across the Middle East, ‘macho’ leaders are very much in fashion. So why is the strongman proving so attractive to so many, and will the fashion be a passing one? Our panellists debated the character traits, neurology and behaviours of the political strongman – as ...
Demagogues and Philosophers
Double Bill Offer: Book for the Jewish Book Week events in Hall One and Hall Two tonight – ‘The Age of the Demagogue’ at 7pm and ‘Great Philosophers and Where They Went Wrong’ at 8.30pm – for the special price of £24. At 7pm our panel of experts on politics and economics examine why the world seems to be falling for the charms of strongman leaders, and at 8.30pm Ferdinand Mount examines some of the greatest ideas and thinkers in world history, and explain...