Completing the Darwinian Revolution

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Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution revolutionized the study of biology. Yet, according to David Sloan Wilson, the Darwinian revolution won’t be truly complete until it is applied more broadly—to social and cultural institutions. 

Darwin's theory of evolution provides a single theoretical framework for biology, and all life sciences, today. But among humanities scholars, it is widely assumed that our rich cultural and behavioural development operates outside the rules of evolutionary theory. In fact, Darwin's theory has been considered taboo in the study of the social sciences, in the light of the inhumane theories of social Darwinism that emerged at the end of the nineteenth century. But, now, David Sloan Wilson, one of the world’s foremost evolutionary thinkers, expands on what we traditionally consider biological.  

Informed by decades of research and drawing on a wide range of studies, Wilson investigates the development and evolution of human social and cultural institutions. What emerges is a powerful argument: if we can wisely manage the evolutionary processes that function within our social and cultural institutions, we will have the power to achieve positive social and economic change that has the potential to dramatically improve our institutions, our communities, and ourselves. 

Join David Sloan Wilson for a special RSA event, as he offers a bold new case for expanding the evolutionary world view to solve the problems of our age at all scales—from the efficacy of our groups to our well-being as individuals to our stewardship of planet Earth.