EvoS Journal: The Journal of the Evolutionary Studies Consortium
Volume 4, Issue 2, 2012
Title
Evolutionary training in relation to human affairs is sorely lacking in higher education
Author(s)
Daniel J. Glass, David Sloan Wilson, & Glenn Geher
Abstract
EvoS (Evolutionary Studies) is premised on the idea that evolution is a powerful intellectual tool for understanding all phenomena related to life. Evolution has famously run into resistance from opponents across the political spectrum. Here, we provide evidence that evolution also runs into dramatic levels of resistance within the academy. To assess this situation, the authors of evolution-themed articles from the journal Behavioral and Brain Sciences between the years 2001 and 2004 were surveyed regarding the state of evolutionary training at their previous and current institutions. The respondents indicated, on the whole, that their graduate school education had focused little on general evolution and even less on evolution as applied to human behavior. Further, much of their own evolutionary knowledge was self-taught and self-initiated – and they generally believed that students or faculty at their current institutions would have difficulty receiving evolutionary training. Crossdisciplinary evolution programs at the university level, EvoS in particular, are suggested as a solution to this systematic problem. With the advent of the international EvoS Consortium, sponsored by the National Science Foundation and reaching more than 40 institutions of higher education across the globe, reason exists for optimism regarding the future of evolution in higher education
DOI
https://doi.org/10.59077/DRUY8636
How to cite this article:
Glass, D. J., Wilson, D. S., & Geher, G. (2012). Evolutionary training in relation to human affairs is sorely lacking in higher education. EvoS Journal: The Journal of the Evolutionary Studies Consortium, 4(2), 16-22.
