In 1859, Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species forever changed how we understand the natural world—and our place within it. Over the last several decades, the evolutionary sciences have quietly extended their reach beyond biology, revolutionizing fields as diverse as psychology, economics, and medicine. Yet one critical domain has long resisted this intellectual tide: the social and political sciences. The shadow of Social Darwinism—which weaponized evolution to justify rampant racism and inequality in the early 20th century—left an indelible stain on evolutionary theory, discouraging further exploration of human social behavior through an evolutionary lens.
But according to evolutionary biologist David Sloan Wilson, that final frontier is now ripe for reconsideration. In his book This View of Life, Wilson argues that we need to complete what he calls the “Darwinian revolution” by rethinking how our societies operate. The foundation of this transformation is called the ProSocial World Framework, an approach grounded in Multilevel Selection (MLS) theory and Elinor Ostrom’s Core Design Principles (CDPs) for managing shared resources.
The ProSocial World Framework (MLS theory + the CDPs) is built on the insight that cooperation, not competition, is the bedrock of human success. MLS theory posits that natural selection operates at multiple levels — from individuals to groups to entire ecosystems and possibly beyond (i.e., the Gaia). In this view, groups that are better at cooperating eventually outcompete those that are rife with selfishness and discord. The CDPs, developed by Ostrom, provide a set of guidelines that communities have used for generations to manage resources fairly and sustainably. Together, they comprise the ProSocial World Framework, translating the science into practice while providing us with the intellectual tools to encourage cooperation within organizations, communities, and even entire societies.
But Wilson’s vision articulated in This View of Life reaches beyond frameworks. It calls for what we in the philosophy of science refer to as a paradigm shift—a deep cultural and intellectual transformation in how we see ourselves, how we relate to each other, and how we structure society on a multilevel, cooperative scale. A framework implies gradual adjustments; a paradigm gets to the core of who we are as social actors, as it reshapes our fundamental worldview. Thus, the ProSocial World Paradigm asks us to see cooperation as the organizing principle of society, not merely as an optional ideal.
In many ways, the ProSocial World Paradigm is not a gigantic leap forward but a return to first principles—principles that have been preserved in Indigenous cultures for millennia. From the African concept of Ubuntu (“I am because we are”) to the Native American emphasis on communal stewardship, Indigenous societies have long understood what evolutionary science is now rediscovering: that the health of individuals, societies, and Nature are inextricably intertwined, thereby necessitating the construction of multilevel societies that act in balance with their surrounding environments.
Ostrom’s work has already demonstrated its ability to solve collective action problems like the Tragedy of the Commons writ large. She showed how communities worldwide have historically managed shared resources equitably and sustainably. Yet, Ostrom’s insights were not created in isolation. Evidence suggests that they are rooted in practices observed among Indigenous and Nature-based societies—societies that maintain our “evolutionary cultural heritage”—where principles such as equitable sharing, collective decision-making, and self-policing were deeply embedded in our social structures.
For instance, the legendary anthropologist Christopher Boehm’s analysis of 154 foraging societies, as discussed in Moral Origins: The Evolution of Virtue, Altruism, and Shame, found that political egalitarianism, equitable sharing, and low tolerance for dominance were near-universal traits among traditional Indigenous societies. The results imply that these are not merely cultural quirks of traditional Indigenous societies, but rather social adaptations that evolved to balance the needs of individuals, societies, and the Nature surrounding. Boehm’s insights underscore the truth behind the CDPs: they are not modern inventions but rediscoveries of ancient principles that have guided human flourishing for 99% of our evolutionary history.
The core of the ProSocial World Paradigm, then, is not a new invention but a rediscovery of ancient wisdom through the lens of modern science. It calls us to recognize that the key to our future may lie in our storied past. Indigenous societies managed to thrive without exploiting each other or the planet because they understood the importance of cooperation, fairness, and shared responsibility on a multilevel scale. The CDPs identified by Ostrom—rules for collective management, equitable sharing, and conflict resolution—echo the practices that sustained our ancestral societies for generations.
Darcia Narvaez, a developmental psychologist and professor emerita at the University of Notre Dame, provides another crucial layer to this paradigm with her Evolved Nest theory. In her book The Evolved Nest, Narvaez draws from anthropology, neuroscience, developmental psychology, and Indigenous studies to offer a compelling explanation for how humans are meant to thrive. For 99% of our evolutionary history, Narvaez argues, humans evolved within a “nest” of nurturing practices: responsive caregiving, physical affection, free play, and a deep connection to Nature and community. Narvaez shows that these are not merely cultural preferences, but ubiquitous social adaptations that maintained harmony between multiple levels of human society. Our brains and bodies developed within the evolved nest, fostering the kind of secure, cooperative individuals who can sustain thriving within multilevel societies.
But in the modern world, our evolved nest is fraying (what Narvaez calls “unnested societies”). Industrialization, urbanization, and the cult of individualism have dismantled the support systems that once surrounded us. We raise children in isolation, disconnected from extended families and Nature. We celebrate independence over interdependence, competition over cooperation, and separation over connection. The consequences of our unnestedness are blatantly evident: rising rates of anxiety, depression, addiction, and loneliness. It seems as if the very systems we created to advance our societies since the Neolithic Revolution are undermining the conditions necessary for human flourishing, causing illness and disease on a macro-level scale.
The ProSocial World Paradigm, seen through the lens of Narvaez's Evolved Nest, becomes not just a scientific framework but a moral imperative. It is both descriptive and prescriptive, as it reveals how and why our social systems are failing since they are fundamentally out of sync with our evolved nature, while also providing a blueprint for how we can restore our past and reconstruct healthy, multilevel social systems. We are a cooperative species, evolved to thrive in supportive, interconnected, “nested” communities. When we stray too far from our evolutionary design, psychological dysfunction and despair are likely—if not inevitable.
The revolutionary work of Wilson, Ostrom, and Narvaez reminds us that the solutions we need are not beyond our reach. We do not need to invent new ways of living. We only need to remember them. For hundreds of thousands of years, humans lived in small, cooperative groups where the Evolved Nest was the norm rather than the exception. These lifeways, preserved in Indigenous practices, provide a blueprint for reorganizing modern society on a multilevel scale. This is to say that mutual aid and care, collective decision-making, and respect for the natural world are not relics of some bygone era. They are the proven pathways to human flourishing in connection with their natural surroundings.
Combining MLS Theory, the CDPs, and the Evolved Nest Theory turns the ProSocial World Framework into a bona fide paradigm; a paradigm that offers a synthesis of science and wisdom previously unseen in our storied past. It shows us not only why we should cooperate but how we can redesign our societies to align with our deepest needs as a social and communal species. It provides tools for addressing the defining crises of our time—climate change, rampant inequality, political polarization, and rising mental health disorders—by recognizing them as failures to remember our ancient identity structures; that is, our ancient ways of being.
This paradigm shift does not require us to abandon modernity or retreat to some idealized, imagined story of the past. Instead, it challenges us to integrate ancient wisdom with modern scientific insight. We now, finally, have the intellectual tools to construct cooperative city landscapes, workplaces that reward collaboration rather than competition, and social policies that support families and communities as the foundations of a healthy society.
David Sloan Wilson says that the Darwinian revolution must be completed within years, not decades. The challenges we face are too urgent for gradual change. The good news is that we already possess the knowledge, the tools, and the ancestral wisdom to make this shift. The ProSocial World Paradigm, enriched by the insights of Narvaez’s Evolved Nest, is a powerful tool that offers us a path forward for all cultures and societies. It asks us to see cooperation not as a lofty ideal but as a survival imperative, deeply embedded in our collective psyches.
In the end, this transformation is a choice. We can cling to systems that fragment and isolate us, or we can embrace a ProSocial worldview that encourages connection, nurtures well-being, and aligns with our evolutionary nature. The path forward is not just possible, but absolutely necessary. The question is whether we have the courage to take it—together.
