This quote is from evolutionary scientist David Sloan Wilson at this year’s ACBS World Conference in Parma. After reading some of his delightful book, Evolution for Everyone, on my trip across the Atlantic, I was eager to hear him speak. There is a clear functional contextual current in his thinking which makes him seem right at home in ACBS.
In Evolution for Everyone, Wilson considers a staggeringly broad range of phenomena -- ranging from horns on ground beetles to human cooperation – all the while demonstrating the awesome scope, precision, and depth of evolutionary principles. His analyses of complex events often begin with simple questions, not unfamiliar to the behavior analyst: “What are the conditions under which these phenomena might occur? What function might they serve?” These roots appear to engender the sort of cognitive flexibility which we so value in the ACT/RFT community. “We know there is a problem, but that doesn’t mean that we can solve it by a simple act of willpower using our wonderful intelligence. Our so-called rational mind simply doesn’t have that much control over the rest of our mind and body,” he writes (p.55).
The conference did not disappoint. In a panel discussion with Jean-Louis Monestes, Anthony Biglan, and Steven Hayes, Wilson spoke of a “unified science of change.” That has a nice ring to it, no? In the Q & A following his invited address, he imparted this wisdom (now one of my favorite quotes) to the audience, “Facts without values are meaningless. Be explicit about values, respectful of facts, and make it more than just an intellectual exercise.” Thanks for so much for joining us, David Sloan Wilson! I'm looking forward to seeing the relationship between contextual behavioral science and evolutionary science evolve.
by Douglas M. Long
University of Nevada, Reno
University of Nevada, Reno
ACBS Staff Writer
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