David Sloan Wilson

April 19, 2012

Big Love: Polygamy, Evolution, and the Law

Why should polygamy be illegal and should the law be changed? Two cases are pending in the US Supreme Court and a case considered by the Supreme Court of British Columbia in 2012 upheld the law.

April 20, 2012

Frans de Waal on the Evolution of Morality

Primatologist Organizes Conference in Sicily on June 17-22

April 23, 2012

Eight Criticisms Not to Make About Group Selection

Eight criticisms that no one should be making about group selection.

May 12, 2012

One Country's Evolution Into The Future

May 4, 2012

Consilience Conference Celebrates Unity of Knowledge In Biology, Social Science, and Humanities

Two controversies lurk beneath an impressive display of interdisciplinarityRecently, we at <em>Evolution: This View of Life</em> had the pleasure of attending and covering the first annual conference on “Consilience”—or the unity of the sciences, social sciences, and the humanities. The conference, of which we at ETVOL hope to see many future iterations, was organized and hosted by Joseph Carroll of the University of Missouri in St. Louis.

May 16, 2012

The New Atheism and Evolutionary Religious Studies: Clarifying Their Relationship

Atheists with an Activist Agenda Must Consult Evolutionary Religious Studies to Remain True to Their Own Creed

May 21, 2012

Jerry Coyne on The New Atheism and Evolutionary Religious Studies

In the spirit of science as a process of constructive disagreement, ETVOL is pleased to feature Jerry Coyne's response.

May 27, 2012

PZ Myers: Not Functioning as a Scientist on the Subject of Religion

You Want Evidence that Religion is Bad for Our Species? OPEN YOUR EYES.

June 11, 2012

Evolution and Morality I: Simon Blackburn

What is the fundamental nature of human morality? Will knowing this help improve our societies?

June 12, 2012

Farewell, Lin Ostrom

The world lost a great human being in the passing of Elinor Ostrom.

July 2, 2012

The Nature Of Regulation II: Regulate Or Die

In biology, regulation isn’t about less or more. It’s about just the right kind of regulation required to survive and reproduce.

June 28, 2012

The Nature of Regulation I: Breaking Out of Our Narrative Prisons

Both liberal and conservative narratives about regulation are like prisons that confine reasonable people to predetermined choices. A new narrative based on the biological concept of regulation can set us free. Regulation is one of the most charged words in politics. If you’re a conservative, then you’re likely to think that regulation is a bad thing that erodes personal responsibility and prevents the free enterprise system from working its magic.

July 12, 2012

Clash of Paradigms

Why Proponents of Multilevel Selection Theory and Inclusive Fitness Theory Sometimes (But Not Always) Misunderstand Each Other.

September 5, 2012

Ayn Rand and Modern Politics

The problem with visions of life that are detached from the world—no matter how intoxicating—is that they crash and burn when they encounter the real world.The problem with visions of life that are detached from the world—no matter how intoxicating—is that they crash and burn when they encounter the real world.

September 8, 2012

Major Forum Clarifies Nature of Cultural Evolution

Over forty top scientists discuss the topic of cultural evolution.

September 12, 2012

Science as a (Fragile) Cultural Adaptation

A broad view of cultural evolution reveals science to be very unusual, very recent, and very fragile.

October 8, 2012

What Does It Mean to be Human?

As a new evolutionary process, however, our origin was almost as momentous as the origin of life.

October 20, 2012

Robert Bellah on Religion, Atheism, and the World and All its Contents

What does theology--as distinct from the scholarly study of religion--contribute to our understanding of religion from an evolutionary perspective?

February 11, 2013

Three Waves of Evolutionary Thought

What Darwin called “this view of life” has indisputably transformed the way we think about the living world.A renewed effort to rethink humanity from an evolutionary perspective didn’t gather steam until late in the 20th century. At first the enterprise was regarded as controversial but by now it has become part of mainstream science, which can be seen by perusing the academic literature.

February 12, 2013

The New Invisible Hand

The invisible hand does not exist - at least in its modern incarnation.

March 18, 2013

Is Religion Useful? A Test Involving Common Pool Resource Groups

Far from “poisoning everything”, religions often plays an integral role in regulating the practical aspects of life.Religion puzzles the nonbeliever in part because it seems to lack utility. How can belief in supernatural agents and costly practices such as ritual sacrifice produce practical benefits?

April 9, 2013

Learning from Mother Nature About Teaching Our Children: Ten Simple Truths

Scientists explored new solutions from an unusual source: Darwin's theory of evolution.Education isn’t working well in America, despite billions of dollars and everyone’s best intentions. Not too long ago, scientists explored new solutions from an unusual source: Darwin’s theory of evolution.

May 12, 2013

Evolving the Future

We are closer to a science of intentional change than one might think.With three members of the EI’s Scientific Advisory Board, Steven C. Hayes, Anthony Biglan, and Dennis D. Embry, we have written a review article titled “Evolving the Future: Toward a Science of Intentional Change”, which will be published in the commentary journal Behavioral and Brain Sciences (BBS).

October 7, 2013

A Third Wave Of Evolutionary Thought

How evolution experienced a case of arrested development in relation to human affairs.I explain how evolutionary thought has developed more or less continuously in the life sciences since Darwin, but experienced a case of arrested development in relation to human affairs. A renewed effort to rethink the human-related academic disciplines began in the late 20th century, comprising a second wave of evolutionary thought.

October 27, 2013

Napoleon Chagnon: The Fierce Sociobiologist

Times have changed for the study of human behavior from an evolutionary perspective, thanks in part to his pioneering spirit.

November 24, 2013

Theory of Cooperation—Generous Strategies Win the Darwinian Contest After All

From extortion to to generosity, evolution in the prisoner's dilemmaThe eternal struggle between cooperative and selfish social strategies takes place on the playing field of theoretical models in addition to the real world. The prisoner's dilemma is a favorite model for exploring advantages and pitfalls of cooperation.

February 23, 2014

Let’s Start Calling Ourselves Evolutionists!

May 5, 2014

Blueprint For The Global Village. Norway Explained.

The unregulated pursuit of self-interest is cancerous at all scales.

June 18, 2014

A Book That Changes The Way We Think About The Economy And Government

Complexity and the Art of Public Policy is a milestone in the application of scientific knowledge to problem solving in the real world.

July 3, 2014

Why Best Practices Don’t Spread

July 7, 2014

PROSOCIAL Can Improve The Quality Of Life – One Group At A Time

December 15, 2014

When Kindness In The Workplace Is A Winning Strategy

How giving trumps taking in our personal lives and the workplace. Organizational psychologist Adam Grant designs businesses to be prosocial.

December 26, 2014

US Army Ambushed By Toxic Leaders

January 6, 2015

The New Evolution Institute Website and the Science-to-Narrative Chain by David Sloan Wilson, President

Welcome to the Evolution Institute’s new website, your portal to understanding and improving the human condition.

January 1, 2015

Richard Dawkins, Edward O. Wilson, and the Consensus of the Many

February 1, 2015

Challenge To Kin Selectionists. Explain This!

February 23, 2015

What Is Evolutionary Psychology?

February 9, 2015

Using Evolution To Address Global Challenges. An Unfinished Synthesis

February 19, 2015

Scott Walker Has No Backbone. Who Has The Courage To Accept Evolution?

March 27, 2015

Everything You Need To Know About Laissez-Faire Economics. A Conversation with Alan Kirman

March 30, 2015

The Spandrels Of San Marco Revisited: An Interview With Richard C. Lewontin

March 31, 2015

Would You Buy A New Paradigm From This Man?

April 27, 2015

Mopping Up Final Opposition To Group Selection

April 9, 2015

Beyond Genetic Evolution. A Conversation With Eva Jablonka

May 2, 2015

The Playwright And The Scientist: A Conversation Between Tom Stoppard And David Sloan Wilson

May 21, 2015

Evolution And The Coming Interspiritual Age: A Conversation With Kurt Johnson

June 1, 2015

The Adapted Mind Of An Evolutionary Psychologist. A Conversation With Debra Lieberman

May 30, 2015

In Memoriam: Rafe Sagarin

May 21, 2015

Tom Stoppard’s Hard Problems

July 5, 2015

Truth and Reconciliation for Social Darwinism

The term "Social Darwinism" is associated primarily with the moral justification of inequality, resulting in policies such as withholding welfare for the poor, colonialism, eugenics, and genocide. We would like to confront this legacy directly.