Humans - How

are we unique
and how unique
are we?
Professor Paul Bingham
Professor Joanne Souza
BIO358
 Seiji Ozawa
conducts

Dvořák’s
“Carnival Overture”
PLEASE mute
your
microphones
and cameras
Professor Paul Bingham
Professor Joanne Souza
 BIO358.01
Professor Paul Bingham
Professor Joanne Souza

UGTA’s
Bailey Campbell, Rocky
Cheng, Maria Lekomtseva,
& Richelle Roy
Overview of Course Content

First – the Basics & the Technical

Aspects…..
Upper Division Biology Course
Fast moving and rigorous

Stony Brook Curriculum: ESI:

Evaluate and Synthesize Researched
Information

STAS:
Understand Relationships between Science
or Technology and the Arts, Humanities, or
Social Sciences
•Biology & Chemistry
•Social Behavior
•Paleontology Archeology,
•Theories of History
•Economics
•Politics
•Religion
•UNITE the Natural Sciences & and
Social Sciences
The Entire Human Story
1.8 million years
Through the Lens of

Evolutionary Biology
 Course based on Scientific
Theory

• How theory is built

• How theory is tested
• How competing theories are evaluated
• Specifically focused on the Human Uniqueness Question
• As we will find, we cover a very parsimonious theory – Social Coercion Theory
• Your current view of your knowledge and of the world may be challenged as we will
ask you to doubt and restructure everything you think you may already know.
 SYNCHRONOUS
online course
• Lectures are delivered LIVE through the
Zoom link on your Bb course – Mon. &
Fri.
• 1:00 PM – 2:20 PM
• Recordings?
• Exams –Bb – DURING CLASS TIME
including SASC time accommodations
• Exams monitored through Respondus
monitoring
 Content Questions?
How do you get
assistance?

• Faculty Zoom Office Hours

• UGTA Zoom Office Hours
• Discussion board Forums on Bb
• Chat to Faculty during lecture –
questions collected and answered via a
FAQ document posted weekly
• Email
 GRADING

1. Midterm 1: Topics 1-5 Mon. 2/14

2. Midterm 2: Topics 6-10 Mon. 3/7
3. Midterm 3: Topics 11-16 Mon. 4/11
For Items 1-3 – we drop the lowest total score We
count your best 2 midterm scores (each 30% of final
grade)
No. 4 below (the final) CANNOT BE DROPPED

4. Final Exam: Topics 17-24 Mon. 5/16 – 40% of

final grade

Graded on a Curve at the end of the Semester

Individual exams are not curved
See Syllabus for Threshold Scores to Letter Grades
YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrqqD_Tsy4Q
What does human evolution
have to do with all of this?
 Nothing in HUMAN BEHAVIOR or
HISTORY makes sense except in light of
evolution – Souza/Bingham
If an Understanding of Evolutionary Theory is so important
Why is there
Resistance to it?
 MISUNDERSTANDING OF
NATURAL SELECTION

Survival of the “Fittest” means biggest, strongest,

most selfish
Fittest can be humane, cooperative
It depends on selection in the environment
INCLUDING the social environment
Getting
Started
 DARWIN'S UNANSWERED
QUESTION

• HOW DID HUMANS COME TO BE UNIQUE

AMONG ALL ANIMALS ON EARTH?

ANSWER IS SIMPLE AND POWERFUL

“Social Coercion Theory”
 Humans - How
are we unique
and how unique
are we?
Humans are
uniquely
ecologically
dominant
Japan
Great Britain
Africa
North America
Norway
 Humans
uniqueness
evolved rapidly,
even explosively
gorillas chimps humans

Evolutionary
relationships
TIME ~6 million years ago
~8 million years ago
gorillas chimps humans

Evolutionary
relationships ~6 million years ago
~8 million years ago
gorillas chimps humans

Evolutionary
relationships ~6 million years ago
~8 million years ago
gorillas chimps humans

Evolutionary
relationships ~6 million years ago
~8 million years ago
 We require a
scientific
(reductionist)
answer to the
question of human
uniqueness
One Version of the “Reductionist’s Pyramid”

Animal societies

Animals
Organ systems
Organs
Tissues
Cells
Molecules
Atoms
Subatomic particles
One Version of the “Reductionist’s Pyramid”

Animal societies

Animals
Organ systems
Organs
Tissues
Cells
Molecules
Atoms
Subatomic particles
One Version of the “Reductionist’s Pyramid”

Humans

Animal societies

Animals
Organ systems
Organs
Tissues
Cells
Molecules
Atoms
Subatomic particles
 Overview of our
specific scientific
answer to the
human uniqueness
question
One Version of the “Reductionist’s Pyramid”

Animal societies

Animals
Organ systems
Organs
Tissues
Cells
Molecules
Atoms
Subatomic particles
One Version of the “Reductionist’s Pyramid”

Animal societies

Animals
Organ systems
Organs
Tissues
Cells
Molecules
Atoms
Subatomic particles
Individual conflicts of interest determine
animal social behavior toward
non-family members (non-kin)
One Version of the “Reductionist’s Pyramid”

Animal societies

Animals
Organ systems
Organs
Tissues
Cells
Molecules
Atoms
Subatomic particles
 One Version of the “Reductionist’s Pyramid”

Non-human
social
cooperation is Animal societies

limited by Animals
individual Organ systems
Organs
conflicts of
Tissues
interest
Cells
Molecules
Atoms
Subatomic particles
 One Version of the “Reductionist’s Pyramid”

Non-human Humans
Humans are
social
the first
cooperation is Animal societies
animals to
limited by Animals
evolve
individual Organ systems
Organs control of
conflicts of
Tissues individual
interest
Cells conflicts of
Molecules interest
Atoms
Subatomic particles
 One Version of the “Reductionist’s Pyramid”

Non-human Humans
Humans are
social
the first
cooperation is Animal societies
animals to
limited by Animals
evolve
individual Organ systems
Organs control of
conflicts of
interest social
Tissues individual
Cells conflicts of
coercion
Molecules interest
Atoms
theory
Subatomic particles
gorillas chimps humans

~6 million years ago

~8 million years ago
gorillas chimps humans

Control of
conflicts of
interest; ~6 million years ago
social revolution ~8 million years ago
 gorillas chimps humans

social coercion theory

~1.8 million
Control of years ago
law
conflicts of
enforcement
interest; ~6 million years ago
social revolution ~8 million years ago
Non-kin conflicts of
interest dominate
non-human animal
social behavior
One Version of the “Reductionist’s Pyramid”

Animal societies

Animals
Organ systems
Organs
Tissues
Cells
Molecules
Atoms
Subatomic particles
 One Version of the “Reductionist’s Pyramid”

Non-human
social
cooperation is Animal societies

limited by Animals
individual Organ systems
Organs
conflicts of
Tissues
interest
Cells
Molecules
Atoms
Subatomic particles
Conflict
non-kin
“private”
domain
Cooperation
close kin
Social coercion theory:
Humans are unique
because we evolved to
control non-kin
conflicts of interest
Conflict “public”
non-kin domain

Cooperation
close kin
How and
why are
humans
different?
 Systematic suppression of
non-kin competitive behavior
How and
why are
humans
different?
 Systematic suppression of
non-kin competitive behavior
How and
why are
humans
different?

Allows evolution of non-kin

cooperative behavior
 orangutan gorilla chimp human

2 million years
COERCIVE Revolutionary
suppression of
new management
conflicts of
interest – of the conflict of
“law enforcement” interest problem
 Africa Europe

South America Asia

 orangutan gorilla chimp human

2 million years
COERCIVE
suppression of
conflicts of
Elite
interest –
“law enforcement”
throwing
 social coercion theory
orangutan gorilla chimp human

2 million years
COERCIVE
suppression of
conflicts of
Elite
interest –
“law enforcement”
throwing
 The history of the
human knowledge
enterprise tells us that
the only viable
explanations are
scientific theories
 Newton’s Laws of motion
1. In absence of external
force, objects remain in
uniform, strait motion.
2. F=ma.
3. Force applied produces
both an action and an
equal and opposite
reaction.

Newton’s Law of gravitation

F= G[m1 m2]/r2
 Newton’s Laws of motion
1. In absence of external
force, objects remain in
uniform, strait motion.
2. F=ma.
3. Force applied produces
both an action and an
equal and opposite
reaction.

Newton’s Law of gravitation

F= G[m1 m2]/r2
 Newton’s Laws of motion
1. In absence of external
force, objects remain in
uniform, strait motion.
2. F=ma.
3. Force applied produces
both an action and an
equal and opposite
reaction.

Newton’s Law of gravitation

F= G[m1 m2]/r2
One Version of the “Reductionist’s Pyramid”

Humans

Animal societies

Animals
Organ systems
Organs
Tissues
Cells
Molecules
Atoms
Subatomic particles
 “Species” and their
history – tools to test
(reductionist)
evolutionary
theories
 time

geographical
barrier
introduced
animal population – a
SPECIES
 NOT SPECIATION

two populations
reunited
geographical
barrier
removed
two populations
accumulate
genetic time
differences

geographical
barrier
introduced
animal population – a
SPECIES
 SPECIATION

two populations
reunited
geographical
barrier
removed
two populations
accumulate
genetic time
differences

geographical
barrier
introduced
animal population – a
SPECIES
 SPECIATION

two populations
reunited
geographical
barrier
removed
two populations
accumulate
genetic time
differences

geographical
barrier
introduced
animal population – a
SPECIES
SPECIATION

time
SPECIATION

= time
SPECIATION

= time
SPECIATION

time
time
Extinction
time
time
time
time
time
time
time
ancestral cat
ancestral ape

time
ancestral
mammal
phylogenetic time

analysis
Putting the human
species into the
bigger
evolutionary
picture
 Archea Protozoans
Bacteria Plants Fungi Animals
humans
YEARS
AGO
1 billion-

2 billion-

3 billion-
a Protozoans

Bacteria Plants Fungi Animals

Protozoans

Plants Fungi Animals

 Protozoans

Plants Fungi Animals

YEARS
AGO

1 billion-

2 billion-
rotozoans

Plants Fungi Animals

ancestral
animal

ca. 600 million

rotozoans
Mollusks
Insects
Plants Fungi Animals
Vertebrates
YEARS
humans
AGO

1 billion- ancestral
animal

2 billion-
ca. 600 million
rotozoans
Mollusks
Insects
Plants Fungi Animals
Vertebrates
YEARS
AGO

1 billion-

2 billion-
ca. 600 million
 Mollusks
Insects
Fungi Animals
Vertebrates

ca. 600 million

 Mollusks
Insects
Animals
Vertebrates

ca. 600 million

 Mollusks
Insects reptiles mammals
Vertebrates fish birds
humans

(amphibians)

ca. 600 million

ancestral vertebrate
 Mollusks
Insects reptiles mammals
Vertebrates fish birds
humans

(amphibians)

ca. 600 million

ancestral vertebrate
 Seeing ourselves in
our evolutionary
context illuminates
something important
about how we got to
be so unique
 Mollusks
Insects reptiles mammals
Vertebrates fish birds
humans

(amphibians)

ca. 600 million

ancestral vertebrate
 reptiles mammals
fish birds

(amphibians)
 Primates
reptiles mammals
fish birds Humans Chimp Orangutan Baboon

(amphibians) Apes

30 million
o rang utan g o rilla c himpanze e human
o rang utan g o rilla c himpanze e human

NO!
o rang utan g o rilla c himpanze e human

6 million years
8 million years

16 million years
o rang utan g o rilla c himpanze e human

6 million years
8 million years

16 million years
 o rang utan g o rilla c himpanze e human

Control of 6 million years

conflicts of 8 million years

interest;
social revolution
16 million years
Social coercion theory
gives us the deep,
broad insight we
expect from a good
scientific theory
 orangutan gorilla chimp human

2 million years
COERCIVE
suppression of
conflicts of
Elite
interest –
“law enforcement”
throwing
 social coercion theory
orangutan gorilla chimp human

2 million years
COERCIVE
suppression of
conflicts of
Elite
interest –
“law enforcement”
throwing
 Control of conflicts of interest allows exchange of
cultural information – creating the speaking,
pedagogical, cultural, ethical and economic animal
 Non-human
culture

Control of conflicts of interest allows exchange of

cultural information – creating the speaking,
pedagogical, cultural, ethical and economic animal
 Non-human
culture

Human
culture
Control of conflicts of interest allows exchange
of cultural information – creating the
speaking, pedagogical and economic animal
 Control of conflicts of interest allows exchange of
cultural information – creating the speaking,
pedagogical, cultural, ethical and economic animal
 Control of conflicts of interest allows exchange of
cultural information – creating the speaking,
pedagogical, cultural, ethical and economic animal
 Control of conflicts of interest allows exchange of
cultural information – creating the speaking,
pedagogical, cultural, ethical and economic animal
 Control of conflicts of interest allows exchange of
cultural information – creating the speaking,
pedagogical, cultural, ethical and economic animal