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How Children Invented Humanity: The Role of Development in Human Evolution By: David F. Bjorklund (Oxford University Press:2021) Reviewed by Ronald F. White for Choice Magazine

   Obviously, the title of this book is not to be taken literally. Children did not “invent” “humanity.” Nevertheless, children do develop into adult humans and the process of “development” throughout childhood has been long neglected by evolutionary scholars. This book is rife with esoteric scientific jargon, from both older and emerging sciences: ontogeny, phylogeny, mismatch theory, development, humanity, plasticity, hypersocial, neoteny, baby schema, and heterochrony. Some readers may find this abundance of technical terminology distracting if not overwhelming. The author argues that the neglect of development science has contributed to an increase “adult-directed play” and a precipitous decline of “self-directed free play.” As a result, the feelings, thoughts, and behavior of children today (and later adults) have become increasingly mismatched with their natural familial environment, which has spawned a generation of emotionally fragile children suffering from a variety ...
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The Nature and Nurture of Human Warfare: An Evolutionary Account. By Ronald F. White, PhD.

        I have written several blogs on "Just War Theory."  (https://freedomsphilosopher.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-ethics-of-war.html).  In light of the ongoing war in Ukraine, I thought it would be useful to explore the larger questions of whether human leadership and human warfare are natural behaviors passed on to subsequent generations through our genetic inheritance; or whether those behaviors are learned and therefore passed on over time via teaching and learning (culture). And, in light of those findings, I will speculate whether the quest for global peace a realistic sociopolitical goal.            Like all human institutions, the history of human warfare reveals varying degrees of cultural evolution, devolution, and/or stability over time. We know that warlike behavior has taken place throughout much of human history. There is evidence that groups of Hunters and Gatherers rarely (if ev...
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Putin's Invasion of Russia: The Politics of Invasion and Intervention

  What light can an old philosopher, like myself, shed upon a global event such as the invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin and the Russian Army? Most philosophers begin by identifying key concepts that shape human political behavior, such as: leadership, followership, military invasion, industry, politics, defense, external intervention, economic sanctions, and national and global media responses. Let's start with the puzzle of leadership and followership. How does an aspiring leader, like Putin, rise to power in Russia and maintain that power, without inspiring political opposition? Evolutionary Politics (as an academic discipline) acknowledges several facts. First, worldwide, the overwhelming majority of high-level political leaders, corporate leaders, and military leaders are all older men. Soldiers who follow military leaders are mostly young men, who need a reliable paycheck to support their families. Historically, soldiers are either drafted (involuntarily) or enlist (volun...
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