Earlier this month I gave an invited lecture on human evolution in the Anthropocene at the Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, and explained how we can use the science of human evolution to make positive change for humans and the planet. Video below:
Yesterday, I joined Maine author Nick Fuller Googins and Susie Arnold, of the Island Institute and host Cindy Han on the Maine Calling on Maine public radio. You can listen to the whole episode here:
https://www.mainepublic.org/show/maine-calling/2024-04-22/earth-day-climate-future
Maine has struggled for an entire decade to barely maintain it’s population size, even as the state continued to age. This demography double whammy causes a severe ‘brain drain’ problem, and has hurt Maine’s economy, and cultural diversity. However, things started to change with the pandemic. And now climate migration will continue to bring younger talented folks to Maine. See write up in the Portland Press Herald.
Overview: Modern ecological crises can be seen as resulting from human social and technological evolution. However, research on human evolution is not sufficiently developed to address global environmental issues or our species’ future on Earth. Theories of human evolution are not seen as relevant or appropriate for application. But an emerging social synthesis of human evolution, focused on the evolution of culture and the importance of human groups makes modelling these problems more tractable. Building on this social synthesis, I introduce an theory of human evolution which provides testable predictions, and opens novel opportunities for application. I show how this theory can be used to address our current global ecological crises more effectively. I review open questions and ethical issues involved in an applied science of human evolution. I propose a global research agenda of applied cultural evolution for beneficial social change and issue an urgent call for help in developing applied evolutionary research for addressing human sustainability on our finite planet.
Watch on Zoom: https://eu02web.zoom-x.de/j/61850441750
Date: Apr 8, 2024
Time: 03:00 PM – 04:30 PM (Local Time Germany)
More info: https://www.shh.mpg.de/2391910/human-evolution-of-in-and-beyond-the-anthropocene
We recently hosted a global webinar as part of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B issue on Evolution and sustainability: gathering the strands for an Anthropocene synthesis. Chaired by Peter Søgaard Jørgensen from the Stockholm Reslience Center in Sweden, Vanessa Weinberger at Universidad Mayor in Chile, and myself, the truly global webinar included short presentations from five authors from the special issue, including: Mauricio Lima, from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, James Liu from Massey University in New Zealand, Erle Ellis, from University of Maryland, USA, Karolina Safarzynska from the University of Warsaw in Poland, Lukas von Flüe from the University of Lausanne in Switzerland.
The videos, slides, and discussion are available for free on the excellent Cassyni platform, here.
Abstract. How did human societies evolve to become a major force of global change? What dynamics can lead societies on a trajectory of global sustainability? The astonishing growth in human population, economic activity, technological capacity and environmental impact – together known as the Anthropocene – has brought these questions to the fore. In this theme issue, we bring together the major elements of a theory of human evolution and sustainability on Earth. We show how diverse theories and approaches help to understand the past, present and future evolution of the Anthropocene, and discover new opportunities for moving towards sustainability. Collectively, the work provides the basis for an evolutionary synthesis of the human predicament on planet Earth.
ACE Lab: Applied Cultural Evolution Laboratory 