Bjørn Grinde

Bjørn Grinde is a biologist working in the fields of genetics and evolution, with a particular interest in human evolution. He studied natural sciences as well as psychology and anthropology at the University of Oslo, resulting in a Dr.scient (1981) and a Dr.philos (1984) from the same university. Presently he works as a chief scientist at the Division of Mental and Physical Health Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Previously, he has served as a scientist and professor at leading universities in Norway, USA, and Japan. Some of his earlier projects focused on molecular evolution, using viruses as a model system.

A prime interest has been to use knowledge on human behavioral biology (also referred to as evolutionary psychology) to improve health and quality of life. He has published several books on this topic, the most known book, meant for a general audience, Darwinian Happiness explain what happiness is about. More recently, he has focused on understanding what consciousness is about, and why we have this feature. See his personal website at wikispaces for a list of key books, scientific publications, films, and apps related to these subjects.

Selected books

• Grinde B (2002/2012). Darwinian Happiness. Evolution as a Guide for Living and Understanding Human Behavior Darwin Press (translated to Italian in 2015)
• Grinde B (2011). "God - A Scientific Update" Darwin Press
• Grinde B (2012). "The Biology of Happiness" Springer
• Grinde B (2015). "Improving the Human Zoo" Darwin Press
• Grinde B (2016). The Evolution of Consciousness. Implications for Mental Health and Quality of Life" Springer