Equilibrium lies at the heart of many of our models of the way the world works. Arguments within a diverse range of disciplines proceed from the premise that the normal state of being is a harmonious one. But that premise is not secure. Disharmony and conflict may be far more than aberrations from a normal state; they may be at the heart of the system. The essays in this volume explore the theme of disharmony and conflict, and the alternative proposition that a variety of systems are fundamentally informed, not just by a tendency towards harmony and equilibrium, but also by conflict.

These essays were first delivered as the 20th Darwin College lecture series. They explore conflict at a range of levels and scales, from the workings of genes and chromosomes at one extreme, and the evolution of galaxies within a ‘multiverse’ at the other. Between these two extremes, they focus upon an intermediate scale, that of human society. In this introduction, we draw out some of the themes that have recurred in the course of these diverse contributions.

An evolutionary imperative

Conflict has a resonance with one of the central ideas of Darwinian evolution, the struggle for survival. This resonance is a recurrent theme of essays by Haig, Wrangham and Cunliffe, in their respective contributions on genomic conflict, the evolution of great apes, and the deep history of the human species.