Exploring the nature of fathers

"My academic life informed my personal life and vice versa as I wrote the book," Rilling says. "It was an interesting interplay." (Photo by Kay Hinton)

In a new book, James Rilling interweaves his personal experiences as a son, husband and dad with the latest scientific insights into fatherhood. The MIT Press published “Father Nature: The Science of Paternal Potential.” 

“It’s about how and why human males evolved the capacity to be involved caregivers, how that care benefits their children, and the circumstances in which it is more common,” says Rilling, a professor in Emory University’s Department of Psychology and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. “The intended audience is anyone who is, has or knows a father.” 

Rilling explores the neural basis of human social cognition and behavior as the director of the Laboratory for Darwinian Neuroscience. Around the time of the birth of his first child, he realized that paternal caregiving was a neglected research topic and he decided to make it a focus of his lab. 

He also began teaching an undergraduate course on fatherhood.

Read the full story here.

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