It is distressing to see yet more unnecessary arguments revolving around evolution: misunderstandings on the one hand and dogmatic insistence on the other. And it may surprise you to discover where we find the scientists and the people of religious faith.
A key point, and one that it developed exceptionally well in this terrific book, is that evolution is not just about human origins, dinosaurs and fossils. The model can be usefully applied to almost every facet of existence. Living systems have a natural tendency to evolve toward ever-greater order and complexity, while "inorganic" matter tends toward increasing entropy.
David Sloan Wilson has written some excellent scholarly works on evolution and this is his first book for a general audience. He is a man on a mission. Five years ago he attracted considerable praise, but also some controversy for his book
Darwin's Cathedral: Evolution, Religion, and the Nature of Society
in which he attempted to bridge the gap between evolutionary theory and religion.
Wilson is distinguished professor of biological sciences with a joint appointment in anthropology at Binghamton University. He has become convinced that evolution can be more widely accepted once people understand its consequences for human welfare and he now directs a campus-wide evolutionary studies program called EvoS that is being adopted by other universities.
He is on record as saying that, "When evolution is presented as unthreatening, explanatory, and useful, it can be easily grasped and appreciated by most people, regardless of their religious or political beliefs."
Wilson must be a natural teacher: his language is straightforward and evocative and he knows when and how to insert the compelling anecdotes. He outlines the basic principles of evolution in a way that should be easily accessible for non-experts. He then uses these evolutionary principles to explain a range of phenomena: Why do wild dogs have curly tails? Why do some beetles commit infanticide? Why do people engage in behaviors that do not seem to be adaptive, like laughing and creating art?
He uses published research to try and answer many other questions. For example, is there a biological advantage to being a highly sensitive person? One answer is that under very stressful conditions, they are able to find meaning where other cannot. This brings to mind the work of Viktor Frankl who found that people who could find meaning in the face of terrible adversity were more likely to survive the concentration camps of the Holocaust.
Wilson also believes that religion is a social glue that enables groups of people to interact, function and survive as coherent units.
Nobody will agree with every one of his hypotheses, but they are fun and interesting reading, and his writing always stimulates and challenges. Even if you disagree with some of his conclusions, or feel that they undervalue human spiritual experience, they are well worth reading.
Highly recommended.
Richard G. Petty, MD, author of
Healing, Meaning and Purpose: The Magical Power of the Emerging Laws of Life
Evolution for Everyone: How Darwin's Theory Can Change the Way We Think About Our Lives
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Last update: 09-12-2024
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Top reviews from the United States
Dr. Richard G. Petty
The Evolution of Everything
Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2007
Phycophile
Good book, but don't misunderstand the title
Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2008Lauren Trowbridge (Sassy Bassie)
Everyone should READ it
Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2018