David Sloan Wilson
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| David Sloan Wilson | |
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| Born | 1949 |
| Occupation | Professor of anthropology and evolutionary biology |
| Parents | Sloan Wilson (father) |
David Sloan Wilson (1949- ) is an American evolutionary biologist. Son of the author Sloan Wilson, David Sloan Wilson is a distinguished professor at Binghamton University who works with the distinguished graduate students Omar Tonsi Eldakar, Daniel Tumminelli O'Brien and Ingrid Storm. He is a prominent proponent of the concept of group selection in evolution. He has, along with Elliott Sober in their book Unto Others proposed a framework called multilevel selection theory, which incorporates the more orthodox approach of gene-level selection and individual selection. This framework argues that while genes serve as the means by which organisms' designs are transmitted across generations, individuals and groups are vehicles for those genes and both are arenas for genes to act on. Indeed, genes themselves can be affected by selection, not just because of their effects on the design of their vehicle (the organism) but also because of their effect on the functioning of the DNA on which they reside. Hence, the notion of multilevel selection. Wilson has also coined the concept of a trait-group, a group of organisms linked not permanently as a group but having a shared fate due to interactions that they have.
Wilson's book Darwin's Cathedral proposes that religion is a group-level adaptation, a product of cultural evolution developed through a process of group selection. His forthcoming Evolution for Everyone will attempt to give an introduction to evolution for a broad audience, detailing the various ways in which evolution can be applied to everyday affairs.
Wilson started the Evolutionary Studies (EvoS) program at Binghamton University to provide a program that unifies diverse disciplines under the theory of evolution. Students in the program take evolution-themed courses in a variety of disciplines including biology, anthropology, psychology, bioengineering, and philosophy. SUNY New Paltz has started a similar program.
[edit] External links
- Wilson's personal homepage
- Review of Darwin's Cathedral by John E. Becker (Carnegie Council)
- "Darwin's God" article in New York Times Magazine for March 4, 2007. Includes interview with Wilson.
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