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   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    ProSocial World: How the principles of evolution can create lasting   
   global change    
      
     Date:   
         April 26, 2023   
     Source:   
         Binghamton University   
     Summary:   
         Knowing how cultural evolution happens also means we can harness   
         it for the larger good, creating a more just and sustainable world,   
         according to a new article.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
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   Evolution goes beyond the genetic code and the transformation of physical   
   form, from land-mammal to whale or dinosaur to bird.   
      
   At the core of evolutionary science is a triad: variation, selection   
   and replication, explains Binghamton University Distinguished Professor   
   Emeritus of Biological Sciences David Sloan Wilson, the founder of   
   Binghamton University, State University of New York's Evolutionary Studies   
   (EvoS) program. You can see this triad at work in culture as well, from   
   economics and business, to engineering and the arts, and the functioning   
   of society at all levels.   
      
   Knowing how cultural evolution happens also means we can harness it for   
   the larger good, creating a more just and sustainable world. That's a   
   topic of "Multilevel cultural evolution: From new theory to practical   
   applications," a new article by Wilson recently published in Proceedings   
   of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of   
   the National Academy of Sciences.   
      
   Co-authors include Binghamton alumnus Guru Madhavan, MBA '07, PhD   
   '09, senior program director at the National Academy of Engineering;   
   Michele J. Gelfand, professor of organizational behavior and psychology   
   at Stanford University; University of Nevada Psychology Professor Steven   
   C. Hayes, who developed Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT); Paul   
   W.B. Atkins, visiting associate professor of psychology with Australian   
   National University's Crawford School of Public Policy and co-founder   
   of the non-profit ProSocial World with Wilson; and microbiologist Rita   
   R. Colwell, former director of the National Science Foundation.   
      
   The wide-ranging article explores the three hallmarks of cultural   
   evolution: prosociality, or behavior oriented toward the welfare of   
   others; social control, which enforces prosocial behavior and penalizes   
   those who behave selfishly; and symbolic thought, which relies on a   
   flexible inventory of symbols with shared meaning.   
      
   Humans have evolved to live in small, cooperative groups, not as   
   disconnected individuals. To be effective, however, society also requires   
   structure.   
      
   Otherwise, strategies that are beneficial on the individual or small-group   
   level become maladaptive: Self-preservation becomes self-dealing, helping   
   friends and family becomes nepotism and cronyism, and patriotism fuels   
   international conflict, for example.   
      
   "We have to have the global good in mind and everything that we do in   
   some sense has to be coordinated with the good of the whole," Wilson said.   
      
   A roadmap for evolution Evolutionary concepts have been misused,   
   however. Take social Darwinism, for example, which is often used   
   to justify competition and harsh social inequities as "survival of   
   the fittest," a misunderstanding and misapplication of Darwinian   
   theory. "Social engineering" also has insidious implications, Wilson   
   noted.   
      
   "We need to ask: Is there anything about evolutionary theory that is   
   especially dangerous in that regard? Or is it the case that anything that   
   can be used as a tool can also be used as a weapon?" Wilson asked. "I   
   think it's the latter."  These concepts become weapons when they are used   
   as means of control, with little to no input from the people they impact,   
   he explained. When people decide to use evolutionary principles to shape   
   their own actions and goals, however, these principles are largely benign.   
      
   Checks and balances are at the core of multilevel cultural evolution to   
   avoid power imbalances, making it the opposite of social Darwinism, which   
   portrayed social inequities as necessary and inevitable. Social Darwinism   
   actually has little to do with Darwin or his theories, Wilson points   
   out; it's a stigmatizing term associated with the moral justification   
   for ruthless competition, and probably closer to the principles behind   
   neoclassical economics.   
      
   But fields such as economics and business needn't define themselves   
   with the neoclassical "greed is good" ethos of Milton Freidman. Wilson   
   points to the work of Nobel Prize-winning economist Elinor Ostrom, who   
   proved that groups can self-manage common-pool resources -- avoiding   
   the proverbial "tragedy of the commons" if they implement eight "core   
   design principles."  Wilson collaborated with Ostrom to show that the   
   core design principles can be generalized, providing a key to successful   
   governance for nearly all forms of cooperative activity.   
      
   "To begin, you need to have a good, strong sense of identity and purpose;   
   that's the first core design principle," Wilson said.   
      
   Other principles involve the equitable distribution of benefits and   
   resources, inclusive decision-making, transparent behavior, and levels   
   of response to helpful and unhelpful behavior, as well as fast and fair   
   conflict resolution, local autonomy and authority, and relationships   
   with other groups.   
      
   These principles not only build better workplaces, neighborhoods and   
   nations, they can also heal the mind. As social mammals, our minds   
   interpret social isolation as an emergency situation, the authors note,   
   and social support is key for the treatment of such conditions as anxiety   
   and depression.   
      
   The tools used in therapy -- particularly mindfulness -- are also   
   applicable on a societal level, encouraging adaptability and cognitive   
   flexibility, which helps individuals recover from adverse life   
   events. That's true of groups as well, Wilson said.   
      
   Planting the seed Creating a more prosocial world grounded in equity   
   and cooperation isn't some unreachable pipe dream.   
      
   "There are practical applications," said Wilson, who established the   
   nonprofit ProSocial World to plant these ideas outside of academia. "Right   
   now, not in some far, distant future, we could be using these ideas to   
   accomplish positive change."  It's important to avoid what Wilson calls   
   the archipelago of knowledge and practice, consisting of "many islands   
   with little communication." Otherwise, ideas and solutions may become   
   trapped in separate silos.   
      
   In essence, the EvoS' speaker series functions that way for students,   
   mingling lectures on bacteria with Neanderthals, morality, the arts   
   and more. Students are exposed to ideas they may not have otherwise   
   encountered, which introduces new paths and possibilities. The same can   
   happen in the larger society, too.   
      
   While technological changes can spread from one culture to another   
   over decades or centuries, Wilson hopes to spark societal change more   
   quickly. He draws upon the concept of catalysis in chemistry: Added   
   in small amounts, a catalytic molecule hastens the rate of change,   
   he explains.   
      
   As catalytic agents, individuals may inspire changes that would otherwise   
   take decades or not happen at all. And this catalysis can happen in   
   ordinary ways, by leaning into the small-group community mindset that   
   fuels our humanity.   
      
   Consider a community garden, for example: Reaching out to different   
   community gardens and sharing knowledge can only benefit everyone   
   involved, Wilson said.   
      
   And those connections don't need to consist of dull meetings; they can   
   involve social interactions such as parties and potlucks, which bring   
   people together and encourage them to make connections.   
      
   "Imagine repeating that in every walk of life, in our schools or   
   businesses, on every scale from small groups to cities," he explained.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Earth_&_Climate   
                   # Environmental_Awareness # Environmental_Policy #   
                   Climate # Sustainability   
             o Science_&_Society   
                   # STEM_Education # World_Development # Social_Issues #   
                   Racial_Disparity   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Cultural_evolution o Society o Sustainable_agriculture o   
             Remediation o Sustainable_land_management o Vehicle_propulsion   
             o Education o Ethnic_group   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by Binghamton_University. Original   
   written by Jennifer Micale. Note: Content may be edited for style   
   and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. David Sloan Wilson, Guru Madhavan, Michele J. Gelfand, Steven   
      C. Hayes,   
         Paul W. B. Atkins, Rita R. Colwell. Multilevel cultural evolution:   
         From new theory to practical applications. Proceedings   
         of the National Academy of Sciences, 2023; 120 (16) DOI:   
         10.1073/pnas.2218222120   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/04/230426104012.htm   
      
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