David Sloan Wilson: What Evolutionary Science Says about Prosocial Groups

Frontiers of Commoning, with David Bollier

David Sloan Wilson is a renowned evolutionary biologist with pathbreaking insights into the role of cooperation in the evolution of life. A professor emeritus at State University of New York, Binghamton, Wilson has investigated how natural selection occurs among groups and even ecosystems, and not only at the level of genes and individuals. In this interview, he explains how prosocial behaviors tend to give groups evolutionary advantages: "Selfishness beats altruism within groups. Altruistic groups beat selfish groups. Everything else is commentary." [ Printable transcript: https://www.bollier.org/transcripts-frontiers-commoning ]