Excrement from four different species of moa – flightless birds from New Zealand – is giving paleontologists insight into centuries-old ecosystems.

New evolutionary thinking about cooperation, groups, firms and societies.To explore the new implications of this vastly improved evolutionary theory for business, we recently organized a one-day symposium at Stern titled “Darwin’s Business: New Evolutionary Thinking About Cooperation, Groups, Firms and Societies.”

A 100-million-year-old fossil flower indicates tulip trees diverged from their close relatives magnolias long ago - the tulip tree was a sight probably enjoyed by the dinosaurs.

Social competition and sexual selection have shaped human instincts for showing off our mental traits.Social competition and sexual selection have shaped human instincts for showing off our mental traits (e.g. intelligence. personality traits, moral virtues) to mates, rivals, friends, peers, and other groups. In modern capitalism, such trait-display instincts are channeled mostly into educational credentialism, workaholic careerism, and runaway consumerism, with often harmful effects on environments, societies, families, and fertility patterns.

Why our moral psychology makes it difficult to teach ethics.I give a brief overview of an evolutionary approach to moral psychology in which people are mostly concerned about appearances and reputation, rather than actually doing the right thing. I explain why this complex psychology makes it difficult to teach ethics to anyone. Yet an understanding of the origins and mechanisms of moral cognition open the way for us to do (and teach) “<a href="http://www.ethicalsystems.org/">ethical systems design</a>,” a way of working with human nature and setting up environments that lead to better ethical behavior.

The effects of the presence of a companion animal on behavior and attitudes in the workplace.My talk is about two studies that deal with “mismatch.” The basic idea behind mismatch theory is that aspects of the modern environment are incongruent (mismatched) with our psychology and physiology, which are more adapted to the environment in which we evolved—the savannas of East Africa.

The implications that the empathy problem has for ethical behavior within firms.I address the implications that the empathy problem has for ethical behavior within firms, particularly engendering sufficient trust to facilitate the use of modern institutional mechanisms that, in turn, affect firm, industry, and social evolution.

Neoclassical economic theory has dominated business school thinking and is based on an incorrect model of human behaviorSince the mid-1970's neoclassical economic theory has dominated business school thinking and teaching, based on an incorrect Homo economicus model of human behavior. Moreover, the neoclassical efficient markets hypothesis implies that a firm's stock price is the best overall measure of the firm's long-term value, so managerial incentives should be tied closely to stock market performance.

Theory of history explains phenomena such as the constant improvement of the human standard of living.My theory of history explains phenomena such as the constant improvement of the human standard of living by looking primarily at just two forms of innovative ideas: technology and rules.

How evolution experienced a case of arrested development in relation to human affairs.I explain how evolutionary thought has developed more or less continuously in the life sciences since Darwin, but experienced a case of arrested development in relation to human affairs. A renewed effort to rethink the human-related academic disciplines began in the late 20th century, comprising a second wave of evolutionary thought.

Lack of exchange explains why culture evolves more slowlyIt is now well established that cultural evolution is a fundamentally Darwinian process, exhibiting incremental descent with modification, semi-random innovation (trial and error), competition among ideas, selective survival and other Darwinian features. One key ingredient of Darwinian evolution is genetic recombination, usually through sexual reproduction, which makes evolution a cumulative phenomenon.

When unbridled competition is clearly inefficient and how more competition is not always a good thing.I explains how private contracts and limited competition have been treated as presumptively illegal under the anti-trust laws which implicitly rest on the premise that more competition is always a good thing. Yet in many cases, unbridled competition is clearly inefficient.