A Darwinian Survival Guide - by Daniel R Brooks & Salvatore J Agosta

About the Book

"Guided by the Four Laws of Biotics, the book details how technological humanity should interact with the biosphere and each other in accordance with Darwinian principles, which illuminate a middle ground between unacceptable apocalypse or unattainable utopia, with two hopeful options: alter our behavior now at great expense based on Darwinian principles and extend current civilization, or fail to respond, fall and rebuild in accordance with those same principles"--

Book Synopsis

How humanity brought about the climate crisis by departing from its evolutionary trajectory 15,000 years ago--and how we can use evolutionary principles to save ourselves from the worst outcomes.

Despite efforts to sustain civilization, humanity faces existential threats from overpopulation, globalized trade and travel, urbanization, and global climate change. In A Darwinian Survival Guide, Daniel Brooks and Salvatore Agosta draw on their expertise as field biologists to offer a novel--and hopeful--perspective on how to meet these tremendous challenges by changing the discourse from sustainability to survival. Darwinian evolution, the world's only theory of survival, is the means by which the biosphere has persisted and renewed itself following past environmental perturbations, and it has never failed, they explain. Even in the aftermath of mass extinctions, enough survivors remain with the potential to produce a new diversified biosphere.

Review Quotes

"Timely, thought-provoking, and refreshingly optimistic. . . . Applying the principles of evolution in thoughtful ways, A Darwinian Survival Guide tackles the complexities of climate change with creativity, optimism, and vision."
--Foreword Reviews

About the Author

Daniel R. Brooks is Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto; Senior Research Fellow, H. W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology, University of Nebraska State Museum; and Fellow of the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS). He is the coauthor of The Stockholm Paradigm and The Major Metaphors of Evolution.

Salvatore J. Agosta is Associate Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and Fellow of the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study. He is the author of more than fifty scientific publications and coauthor of The Major Metaphors of Evolution.