Evolutionary processes, especially natural selection, have the capacity to help us conquer some of society’s largest challenges and meet our most important goals, yet they are often underappreciated or misunderstood, to our detriment.
By developing a more refined understanding and definition of what natural selection is and isn’t, we can better grasp its untapped practical value. In his forthcoming book Force of Nature, Vanderbilt Professor Owen D. Jones illustrates how natural selection’s relentless, existential power can be used to our benefit in a wide variety of settings.
The book explains how natural selection can improve our lives and help us achieve our most ambitious goals, using examples from medicine, psychology, artificial intelligence, robotics, and surprising arenas like international fishing.
“Force of Nature explores natural selection and the importance of understanding this powerful phenomenon in making sense of the world,” said Joe Tsai, co-founder and Chairman of Alibaba Group. “The insights from this book will make a far-reaching impact on the world and bring benefits to humankind.”
Through highly relatable stories about key experiments, animals from around the world, and scientific breakthroughs, Professor Jones exposes previously unnoticed effects of natural selection and demonstrates the practical value of understanding how the process works. Readers interested in science, nature, human behavior, or simply improving the human condition will come away from Force of Nature with a renewed appreciation for the power of evolution.
“Humans are generating massive new selection pressures all over the globe, with implications for everything from food production and health to wealth distribution and technological improvements,” Jones said. “Whatever society’s existing goals are, a feeble grasp of natural selection will often hurt and—in many domains—a better grasp will often help.”
Force of Nature, published by both W.W. Norton and Oxford University Press, is available for preorder respectively here and here, as well as at https://owendjones.com.
Owen D. Jones is a professor of law and of biological sciences at Vanderbilt University. The director of the Weaver Program on Law, Brain Sciences, and Behavior, he is the coauthor of Brain Science for Lawyers, Judges, and Policymakers. He lives in Nashville.