David Sloan Wilson: Evolutionary Psychology in the Media

What follows are the first few paragraphs of a fabulous Huffington Post blog post by David Sloan Wilson (pictured left), perhaps the leading evolutionary theorist alive today, on the subject of evolutionary psychology in the media...

Evolutionary psychology, once the darling of the public media, has been dumped in a recent Newsweek article by journalist Sharon Begley. Return accusations are beginning to fly from evolutionary psychologists, who accuse Begley of willful distortions and scientific incompetence (e.g., 1, 2).

As usual for romantic quarrels, there are legitimate grievances on both sides that get lost in a hail of recriminations. I have always had a love-hate relationship with the school of thought that most people associate with the term "evolutionary psychology." When it appeared in the late 1980's, it made some great points but also got other things profoundly wrong. Begley's article made some cheap shots but it also made some fair shots about evolutionary psychology that need to be acknowledged.

As for the public media, covering science must be one of the toughest journalistic assignments. First, one must understand the nature of the scientific process in general terms. Then, one must master the specific topic that is being reported. Finally, one must convey what is genuinely newsworthy to a general audience--the fair shots--while avoiding the cheap shots that get people's attention but become part of the problem in the long run. Judged by these standards, the Newsweek article scores rather low.

Here are some issues that need to be resolved to get the romance between evolutionary psychology and the public media back on the right track.

Click HERE to read the rest of this post (a good quick overview of the current state of the discipline).

ALSO SEE: David Sloan Wilson's other Huffington Post contributions, especially his 6-part "Atheism as a Stealth Religion" series and his 13-part "Truth and Reconcilation for Group Selection" series.  Both are excellent!

Agape International Spiritual Center

I had entirely too much fun this week.

We've been staying at Tahdi Blackstone's home in the West Hills of Los Angeles, which is just heavely.  Tahdi, a former board member of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, has been a leader in the IONS community in Los Angeles for many years.  She's a beautiful soul and has a wonderful place—one of our favorites, actually.  She invited us to be at her home while she went to the 13th Annual International IONS Conference, in Tuscon, AZ.

The highlight of the week was our experience at Rev. Dr. Michael Beckwith's (pictured left) dynamic New Thought church, Agape International Spiritual Center, in Culver City.  Even though we've yet to meet in person, Rev. Michael invited me to fill his pulpit for the Wednesday evening worship service, while he and his wife, Ricki Byers Beckwith, were speaking in Portland, Oregon.  I don't think I've ever experienced more passionate, get-your-body-up-and-clap gospel music in my entire life.  It was absolutely awesome.  It was also a wonderful way to celebrate Connie's and my 8th wedding anniversary.   They gave me nearly 40 minutes to preach, and I had a blast.  What a fabulous and wonderfully diverse church!  If you've ever in the LA area on a Sunday morning or a Wendesday night, make sure you attend Agape.  It's quite the experience. 

On Thursday night, I offered my 90-minute "Evolution and the Global Integrity Crisis" program, which was also very well received. 

All in all, it was a great week. Now we're off to Santa Barbara, then to San Luis Obispo.