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THIS VIEW OF LIFE

Excerpt from “This View of Life” by David Sloan Wilson

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By Charles Nunn, David Samson In Biology

Do We Sleep Better Than Our Ancestors? How Natural Selection and Modern Life Have Shaped Human Sleep

Humans sleep substantially less than expected but pack a larger percentage of REM sleep than predicted. Our species promotes sleep intensity, thus obtaining higher quality sleep within a shorter period of time.

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By Marcel J. Harmon In Biology

The Potential Evolutionary Mismatches of Germicidal Ambient Lighting

Introducing germicidal blue light essentially creates a new environment that most bacteria appear to be mismatched to survive within. But we may be mismatched as well.

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Biology Health

Is Cancer a Disease of Civilization?

Our cancer suppression mechanisms evolved for a world that is not the world we live…

Athena Aktipis
April 2, 2019

Biology Health

The Darwinian Causes of Mental Illness

Why hasn’t natural selection eliminated -- or at least severely reduced the frequency of --…

Eirik Garnas
March 22, 2019

Health

(Mis-) Communication in Medicine: A Preventive Way for Doctors to Preserve Effective Communication in Technologically-Evolved Healthcare Environments

Cultural evolution created technologically-advanced contexts that make it difficult for doctors to communicate with patients…

Brent C. Pottenger
March 20, 2019

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Opportunities

Call for Volunteer Research Assistant

Evolution Institute is looking for a volunteer research assistant! Applications are due April 22, 2019.

Evolution Institute
March 20, 2019

Biology

Generating Testable Hypotheses of Evolutionary Mismatch

Models of ancestral environments are hard to construct and as a result such hypotheses are…

Sudhindra Rao
March 13, 2019

Biology Morality

What All Theories of Social Evolution Share In Common

If prosocial behaviors are vulnerable to more self-serving behaviors in every group where both types…

David Sloan Wilson
March 6, 2019

Biology

It’s Time To See the Light (Another Example of Evolutionary Mismatch)

The biological clock prepares our bodies for predictable events, like sleep and energy intake. Misalignment…

Dan Pardi
February 28, 2019

Biology Gender Health

A Mother’s Mismatch: Why Cancer Has Deep Evolutionary Roots

While cancer is not exclusively a disease of modern environments, many modern environmental changes influence…

Amy M. Boddy
February 25, 2019

Anthropology Biology

Functional Frivolity: The Evolution and Development of the Human Brain Through Play

Play is not frivolous but is an adaptation designed to guide proper cognitive development in…

Aaron Blaisdell
February 22, 2019

Biology Commentaries

Evolutionary Mismatch and What To Do About It

A critical moment in the life of a sea turtle is when it hatches from…

David Sloan Wilson, Anthony J. Basile, J. Brett Smith
February 22, 2019

Biology Philosophy

Why Teleology is the Elephant in Evolutionary Theory’s Room

Imagine humans one day fulfill what is currently only a dream for the discipline known…

Felipe A. Veloso
February 19, 2019

Biology Philosophy

Can Evolution be Understood as a Conscious Process?

My approach is explored by considering Aristotelian Causal Categories, focusing on Final Cause. I then…

Stanley N. Salthe
February 6, 2019

Biology Philosophy

One Culture, Two Cultures? How Many Cultures, How Long?

When asked “Can Evolution be Conscious?” reactions can occur aptly reflecting the “informal definition” (as…

Kurt Johnson
January 30, 2019

Anthropology Sports

Fa’asamoa of Tattooing and Football: Conservatism and Adaptation in Samoan Cultural Evolution

Two new books published in 2018 emphasize the role of fa’asamoa in amplifying “sticky” cultural…

Christopher D. Lynn
January 25, 2019

Biology Philosophy

Can Evolution Be Conscious of Itself? Yes, It Can!

Human beings are subject to the workings of evolution and are also aware of their…

Joe Brewer
January 23, 2019

Biology Philosophy

The Consciousness of Detachment and the Detachment of Consciousness

To speak of an evolution of consciousness as a natural event is to be committed…

Lenny Moss
January 18, 2019

Biology Philosophy

Welcome to the Noösphere

An evolutionary teleological view would be that no matter where you are in the cosmos,…

Alice Andrews
January 15, 2019

Biology Philosophy

The Evolution of Consciousness Enables Conscious Evolution

Understanding the evolution of consciousness provides the scaffolding for evolutionary science itself to consciously evolve,…

Steven C. Hayes
January 11, 2019

Biology Philosophy

The Origins and Evolutionary Effects of Consciousness

How consciousness evolved and how consciousness has come to affect evolutionary processes are related issues.

Eva Jablonka and Simona Ginsburg
January 7, 2019

Biology Religion

Science and Religion Need Not Be At War

My Agreement and Disagreement with Jerry Coyne.

David Sloan Wilson
December 27, 2018

Arts Culture Education

A School, Camp, and Retreat Center Informed by Evolutionary Science

Between the ages of 10 and 13, I attended a magical boarding school in the…

David Sloan Wilson
December 21, 2018

Biology Philosophy

Conscious Evolution is a Category Mistake

No, evolution is not a conscious process, and to think so is an example of…

Massimo Pigliucci
December 13, 2018

Anthropology Culture

Cultural Evolution, Insight, and Fundamental Theories of Consciousness

Since cultural evolution is fueled by the creative efforts of human minds which, by anyone’s…

Liane Gabora
December 10, 2018

Commentaries

Can Evolution Be Conscious? Introducing a Collection of Commentaries Published on This View of Life

To make the concept of conscious evolution fully respectable again, TVOL is pleased to feature…

David Sloan Wilson, Mel Andrews, Maximus Thaler
December 10, 2018

Biology

Was Darwin A Group Selectionist? A Conversation with Elliott Sober

You can’t talk about religious beliefs and practices as adaptations without addressing the issue of…

David Sloan Wilson, Elliott Sober
December 3, 2018

Anthropology Biology Gender Race

Fighting for the Middle Ground: David Sloan Wilson Interviews Holly Dunsworth on the Ethics of Teaching Evolution

In a world that is being ripped apart by polarized views and fake news, scientific…

Holly Dunsworth, David Sloan Wilson
November 28, 2018

Biology Gender History Race

It Is Unethical To Teach Evolution Without Confronting Racism And Sexism

Evolution educators—even if sticking to E. coli, fruit flies, or sticklebacks—must confront the ways that…

Holly Dunsworth
November 19, 2018

Sports Uncategorized

Territoriality in Sports

Signaling territoriality of home-playing athletes might contribute to the home advantage.

Philip Furley
October 28, 2018

Biology Philosophy

Saving Social Constructivism

Social constructivism is on trial for being an academic fraud. Can it be rescued and…

David Sloan Wilson, Lynette Shaw
October 9, 2018

Anthropology Biology Gender

The Obstetrical Dilemma, Dismantled: Human Childbirth is Not a Dilemma

Rather than being evicted from the womb before their heads are too big, a new…

Michelle Rodrigues
September 27, 2018

Engineering Environment Special Publication

Constructing Our Niches: The Application of Evolutionary Theory to the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) Industry

The architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry has the ability to mindfully orchestrate the direction…

Marcel J. Harmon
September 12, 2018

Biology Technology

The Evolution of Emergent Computation

Many systems in nature consist of a large number of relatively simple units that interact…

Wim Hordijk
September 10, 2018

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