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THIS VIEW OF LIFE

Morality Regulates Our Social Physiology

Darwin knew humans can’t survive or thrive individually. Indeed the relation between people and groups is akin to that between genes and bodies.

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By Publius In Biology

The Human Social Organism and a Parliament of Genes

Ten thousand years of cultural evolution has impressively expanded the scale of human cooperation to levels that could not have been imagined by our distant ancestors.

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By David Sloan Wilson In Biology

Master Class: A Conversation with Jonathan Birch About the Equivalence of Theories of Social Evolution

The controversy over group selection that emerged in the 1960’s seemed as if one theory could be rejected in favor of another, but it was really more like monolingual people declaring each other to be confusing and wrong.

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Biology Politics

More Perfect UNIONS Must Regulate Their Parts

Every animal society experiences the same tension between the need to cooperate to achieve collective…

Publius
July 18, 2019

Biology History Politics

On the Origin of Socialist Darwinism

Socialist Darwinism is the idea that natural selection promotes societies that cooperate as moral communities.…

Publius
July 10, 2019

Biology Politics

Darwinizing the Federalist Papers: Preamble

The Federalist Papers argued for the creation of a more perfect UNION based on Enlightenment…

Publius
July 4, 2019

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Anthropology Biology Gender

The “Benefits,” Risks, and Costs of Routine Infant Circumcision

Foreskin serves valuable functions and its loss may be felt not only in the short…

Stephanie Welch
June 27, 2019

Biology

A Blurred Future: How Our Eyes Are Changing To Meet Modern Visual Demands

Certain genetic makeups may predispose an individual to become nearsighted in a specific environment but…

Steve Turpin
June 21, 2019

Biology

Is Shame a Bug or a Feature? An Applied Evolutionary Approach

Shame seems to have two separate components. One, the corrective feedback for us by which…

Nando Pelusi
June 13, 2019

Biology

The Physical Activity Mismatch: Can Evolutionary Perspectives Inform Exercise Recommendations?

It’s highly likely that some degree of mismatch exists between our modern environment and the…

James Steele
May 31, 2019

Biology Health

Public Health and Evolutionary Mismatch: The Tragedy of Unnecessary Suffering and Death

The current anti-vaccination movement is a result, in part, of the innate cognitive biases inherent…

George Diggs
May 22, 2019

Biology

How to Eliminate Going to the Dentist

Tooth decay is the most prevalent diseases of the modern age1. Unfortunately, too many people…

John Sorrentino
May 16, 2019

Biology Education

Mismatch Between Our Biologically Evolved Educative Instincts and Culturally Evolved Schools

The basic structure of standard schooling requires that children’s natural self-educative instincts be suppressed.

Peter Gray
May 2, 2019

Biology

Humans: Smart Enough to Create Processed Foods, Daft Enough to Eat Them

I spend a lot of time thinking about food and health and have a suspicion…

Ian Spreadbury
April 30, 2019

Anthropology Food for thought

The Future of the Ancestral Health Movement

The current ancestral health movement is often thought to be on the verge of going…

Hamilton M. Stapell
April 25, 2019

Biology

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

David Sloan Wilson
April 15, 2019

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…

Charles Nunn, David Samson
April 11, 2019

Biology Health Technology

The Potential Evolutionary Mismatches of Germicidal Ambient Lighting

Introducing germicidal blue light essentially creates a new environment that most bacteria appear to be…

Marcel J. Harmon
April 4, 2019

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

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

Image credit: James Hart, pickcomfort.com A critical moment in the life of a sea turtle…

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

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