AHS16 - Ancestral Health Symposium 2016

In what is likely the most polarized time period in the social, political and economic landscape, this presentation explores the potential ancestral mechanisms that may be at the core of our most pressing issues. Tying together the fields of genetics, evolutionary biology, sociology, neuroscience, and psychology, this discussion uses r/K selection and life history theories as heuristics to inform the first species to be aware of it’s own evolutionary strategies. This research review directed at the layperson but relevant to all will examine the wide-ranging possible implications and unintended consequences of evolutionary mismatches between our centralized institutions and our biological impulses. Inspiration will be drawn throughout the ancestral health sphere from hyperpalatability to healthcare-industrial complexes. Do genetics determine the values of society? Are our controversial public discourses driven by higher intellect or fear-driven survival responses? Do we face the extinction of vital characteristics of our social ecology?