Every year at the annual HBES conference I meet people who had recently "discovered" our Society and were delighted to find so many like-minded folks. Their delight presumably derives from the fact that they felt intellectually isolated in their department, discipline, or academic institution because of their enthusiasm for thinking about the relevance of selection in understanding the psychology and actions of Homo sapiens. For some folks, selectionist social science was an obvious and independent generalization from selectionist biology, and for others, a book or article or commentary was sufficient impetus to explore the ramifications. But perhaps by now many HBESers are intellectual descendants of these formerly lonely folks.

The desire or need to display and enjoy mutual enthusiasms, factoids, and insights is undoubtedly a human universal. And around the globe there are apparently independent spontaneous gatherings of people who are enthusiastic about selection thinking for the study of the talkative hairless biped.

Maybe you would be interested in three such gatherings I’ve attended. The first one was in London.

Evolution and The Human Sciences; London, June 24–26, 1993. Helena Cronin, a philosopher at the Centre for the Philosophy of the Natural and Social Sciences of the London School of Economics, was the instigator and organizer of a gathering of some 300 people from Britain and abroad. We listened to well-known and not-so-well-known intellectual giants on topics ranging from virulence and maternal-fetal conflict to theory-of-mind, world history, and economics. Helena is a gentle but formidable force in changing the intellectual climate of Britain with respect to selection-thinking about human affairs. Darwin was, of course, an Englishman and we all are indebted to a long series of theoretical and empirical contributions by Brits (see H. Cronin, The Ant and the Peacock, Cambridge U. Press 1991), but even as recently as 1993 they seemed reluctant to include Homo sapiens as an appropriate subject of selectionist science. Since 1993 this no longer is the case. I was sorry to have missed Geoffrey Miller’s "Workshop on the evolution of utilities and utility functions: biological foundations of economics" held at University College, London, December 1–2, 1997.

If you’re traveling to London try to coincide your visit with the monthly Darwinian seminar/salon at the Centre for the Philosophy of the Natural and Social Sciences which always showcases two interesting speakers. A spot of tea and a glass of wine add to the festive mood. Also check out the Centre’s electronic magazine, The Evolutionist (website

address: http://www.lse.ac.uk/depts/cpnss/evolutionist). And watch out for the new Darwinism Today series of pocketbook essays starting in the fall of 1998 with one by John Maynard Smith.

Human Behaviour and Evolutionary Biology, Stockholm; November 28–29, 1996. Staffan Ulfstrand (Zoology, Univ. of Uppsala) and Nils Uddenberg (Swedish Institute for Future Studies, Stockholm) organized this gathering of a couple hundred social and medical scientists, philosophers and other scholars. Staffan and Nils explained to us that they and several other colleagues felt that the Swedish academy had not been adequately informed about selection-thinking of Homo sapiens. This surprised me given that Sweden, in my opinion, has been the leader in behavioural ecological studies of non-human animals. There were only six main speakers including Richard Alexander (Biology, Univ. of Michigan), John Maynard Smith (Biology, Univ. of Sussex), Volker Sommer (Anthropology, Univ. of London), and Donald Brown (Anthropology, Univ. of Calif.-Santa Barbara), but discussants from several Swedish universities and a quick audience were ready with challenges and extended discussions. I enjoyed the reminiscing—over a good Swedish lager—of Dick Alexander and John Maynard Smith about the science and people of evolutionary biology. If only there had been a whole day devoted to RDA’s overview of the compelling reasons for a selectionist social science of Homo sapiens under the title of "Evolution and the Arts". And what a pleasure to hear JMS discuss language.

We who don’t know Japanese cannot fully appreciate their efforts in educating Japanese social scientists and the public. Mariko has translated The Ant and the Peacock, The Red Queen (by Matt Ridley), Plan and Purpose in Nature (by G.C. Williams), and they co-translated The Third Chimpanzee (by Jared Diamond). Mariko is also the author of Why are Peacocks so Beautiful? (about sexual selection and female choice), Male and Female (general introduction to the behavioural ecology of sex), and Puzzle over the Number of Males and Females (about sex ratio variation). And she produced and hosted a series of weekly television productions on sexual selection "Why are there males and females?" These programs were broadcast nationally from National Broadcasting Corporation, April–June 1997). Mariko and Toshikazu are indeed well-qualified to lead the social sciences in Japan into the next millennium.

While visiting Kyoto University, Martin and I met Ryo Oda who not only has studied the behavioural ecology of Madgascan lemurs and Japanese macaques but also cheater detection in humans (see Evolution & Human Behavior 18: 309–315). John Constable and Hajime Nozawa are exploring the implications of sexual selection on the form and content of English verse. Michael Huffman is pursuing Darwinian medicine of chimpanzees, or as he would say "chemo-ethology of hominoid interactions with medicinal plants and parasites".

I hope these Darwinians will be able to attend future HBES meetings and publish in our English-language journals so that we all can benefit from their scholarship and research.

If I had surveyed HBESers I would have discovered many other examples of social scientists’ new interest in selection-thinking about Homo sapiens. I like to think that the process of the successful invasion of the selection-thinking mutation in the social science ecosystem is the result of its superior benefits over the moribund alternatives.

January 8, 1998

HBES Panel on Evolution, Controversy, and the Media. Frank Miele and Michael Shermer of Skeptic Magazine are arranging a symposium on evolution, controversy, and the media at the forthcoming HBES conference. It would examine/discuss three areas: (1) Evolution as a controversial subject (vs. Creationism and all that) among the public and therefore in the media; (2) Controversy over the adapatationist program—media coverage of the disagreements between those who work within the Adaptationist Program (i.e., most of HBES) and it’s critics WITHIN biology (e.g., S. J. Gould); 3) Controversies within HBES (individual vs. group differences, universal vs. differenential models). The focus would not be on these issues per se, but one how they are treated in the media and/or tips on how to get more and more accurate coverage in the media. Contact Frank Miele, Senior Editor, SKEPTIC Magazine, 620 Iris Ave (#216), Sunnyvale, CA 94086; phone: 408 738-1927; fax: 408 738-5949; email: fmielex@aol.com

HBES Panel on the Arts. Brett Cooke is arranging a panal or panels on the arts for the forthcoming HBES conference. He is also attempting to schedule a meeting on evolutionary psychology of the arts for the day after the HBES conference ends, provided the necessary space is available. Contact Brett Cooke, Modern & Classical Languages, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4238; phone: 409 693-3704; email: lbc3432@unix.tamu.edu

The Fourth Annual Aaron T. Beck Across-Species Comparisons and Psychopathology (ASCAP) Competition. March 15 is the deadline for submission of not-previously-published essays on evolutionary biology and psychopathology. Single authored papers may be submitted by students of relevant fields (e.g., psychiatry, psychology, biology, anthropology) as well as by recent graduates (within 3 years or terminal degree or residency graduation). The winner will receive $1000, a year’s subscription to the ASCAP Newsletter, and a plaque awarded at the annual meeting of the ASCAP Society to be held on 8 July 1998 in Davis, California, on the day anticipating the annual meeting of HBES. All participants should send three copies of their paper to Thomas Joiner, Ph.D., Chairman of the Beck ASCAP Award Committee, Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-1051. Postmark deadline is 3/15/98. Call 904 644-2040 for more information or send email to joiner@darwin.psy.fsu.edu.

Fourteenth Bi-Annual Conference of the International Society for Human Ethology (ISHE). The ISHE conference will be held August 19–23, 1998 at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. The conference will feature invited talks, paper and poster presentations. The focus of the conference will be on integrating proximate and ultimate explanations in the study of mind and behavior. Plenary speakers will include David Haig, (Harvard Univ.), "Genetic imprinting, conflicts of interest, and development"; Doreen Kimura (Univ. of Western Ontario, Canada), "Biological contributions to sex differences in human cognitive abilities"; and Simon Baron-Cohen (Cambridge Univ., England), "Evolution, autism, and theories of mind" The deadline for proposals and abstracts is April 1, 1998. Abstract mailing address and contact for technical questions for symposia, workshops, and posters: Dr. Charles Crawford, Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5A 1S6; phone (604) 291-3660, fax (604) 291-3427; email: Crawford@sfu.ca; 1998 ISHE Conference website:

http://www.sfu.ca/cstudies/conf/humanwww/;

ISHE website: http://evolution.humb.univie.ac.at/ishe.html

Sunbelt XVIII and 5th European International Conference on Social Networks. The International Conference on Social Networks (the joint 5th European and 18th Sunbelt Conference) will be held at the Gran Sitges Hotel in Sitges (near Barcelona), Spain, from Thursday, May 28 through Sunday, May 31, 1998, with registration on Wednesday, May 27. The conference provides an interdisciplinary forum for social scientists, mathematicians, computer scientists, ethologists, and others interested in social networks. The conference is sponsored by the International Network for Social Network Analysis (INSNA), Universitat de Barcelona, and Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona. For information on paper submissions, contact: Program Committee, International Social Network Conference, ICS Grote Rozenstraat 31, 9712 TG Groningen, The Netherlands; fax: +31-50-363-6226; email: Social.Networks@ppsw.rug.nl; for information on conference registration, contact: Sunbelt XVIII and 5th European International Conference on Social Networks / NAGAR; Departament de Sociologia; Universitat de Barcelona; Diagonal, 690 08034 - Barcelona; Fax: 34 3 2802378; Tel: 34 3 4021804;

e-mail: nagar@riscd2.eco.ub.es; Website:

http://www.heinz.cmu.edu/project/INSNA/

Call for papers: Marriage, morality, and emotions: Updating Edward Westermarck. A symposium devoted to the work of anthropologist, sociologist and philosopher Edward Westermarck (1862–1939) will be held in Helsinki, Finland, November 19–22, 1998. The symposium is organized by The Westermarck Society, the scholarly association of Finnish sociologists. Particularly welcome are papers that attempt to update any of Westermarck’s central analyses of sex, the family, morality and social emotions. Papers that deal with the historical context of Westermarck’s work are invited as well. Plenary speakers include: Arthur P. Wolf (Stanford Univ.); Frans de Waal (Emory Univ.), Frank Salter (Max Planck Gesellschaft, Andechs); and Maurice Bloch (London School of Economics) jointly with Dan Sperber (CNRS, Paris). The number of papers will be limited to about 30. Deadline for abstracts is April 15, 1998. Acceptance announcements will be sent by May 30. Send inquiries to: Jukka-Pekka Takala, National Research Institute of Legal Policy, POB 1200, FIN-00101 Helsinki, Finland; Telephone + 358 9 1825 7874; Fax + 358 9 1825 7865; email: Jukka-Pekka.Takala@Helsinki.Fi

website: http://org.utu.fi/yhd/westermarck/

Evolution and Human Behavior Website. Elsevier Science maintains information on all its journals, including E&HB. Follow the path from http://www.elsevier.com by searching for Evolution and Human Behavior under journals, or, use this very long address without further searches:

http://www.elsevier.com/inca/publications/store/5/0/5/7/6/0/index.htt. Information is available on contents and mailing dates of past issues as well as instructions for authors. To subscribe, contact HBES Treasurer Patrick McKim (email: pmckim@calpoly.edu).

Human Nature Website. The website for Human Nature is http://www.unm.edu/~humnat/. Human Nature is a quarterly journal that publishes peer-reviewed articles on biosocial factors underlying human behavior. The new website provides information on subscriptions (including discounts for HBES members), submissions, the editorial and review process, contents of each issue since 1990 (the inaugural year), and forthcoming articles. The journal is published by Aldine de Gruyter (Hawthorne, New York) and edited by Jane B. Lancaster (Univ. of New Mexico).

Evolutionary Psychology Papers Needed. David Buss is finishing the final revision of his undergraduate textbook on evolutionary psychology, and asks that researchers send their latest publications (out or "in press") immediately to ensure that the text is maximally up to date. Please send to: David M. Buss, Dept. of Psychology, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712

Course on Clinical Applications. A course entitled "Healing the Moral Animal: Lessons from Evolution" will be conducted July 20–24, 1998 as part of the 19th Cape Cod Institute. Sessions will be from 9 A. M.–12:15 P. M. with extended sessions on Monday and Tuesday. Speakers will be Robert Wright, Russ Gardner, John Pearce, and James Brody. Evolutionary models for human social behavior will be explored in a manner conducive to clinical applications. Course handbook will be included. 15 continuing education credits are available for psychologists, physicians, nurses, counselors, marriage and family therapists, and addictions counselors. Fees are $435.00 for one registrant, $285.00 for medical residents or graduate students (documentation required). Website: www.cape.org/1998/ Contact James F. Brody, Ph. D., 1261 West Bridge St., Spring City, PA 19475; jbrody@compuserve.com

Section 1. The Society shall be known as The Human Behavior and Evolution Society.

Section 2. The purpose of the Society shall be to encourage the use of evolutionary theory to understand human behavior and to promote the exchange of information about relevant research and scholarship among interested scientists and scholars in all disciplines. The methods for accomplishing these purposes shall include a meeting to be held annually.

Section 3. Neither the Society, nor its Council, committees or officers acting in their capacity as such shall take positions on social or political issues and controversies.

Section 1. Any persons shall be eligible for membership who have contributed or, as registered graduate students, are preparing to contribute to the development and use of Darwinian evolutionary theory to improve understanding of human behavior, the behavior of other animals or the organic processes associated with behavior.

Section 2. The dues for membership shall be determined by the Council. Members whose dues are not in arrears shall have the right to vote.

Section 1. The elected Officers of the Society shall be a President, a President-Elect, a Past-President each serving [one] TWO-year terms, and a [Secretary-Treasurer] SECRETARY-ARCHIVIST AND A TREASURER EACH SERVING A SIX-YEAR TERM. The President-Elect [and Secretary-Treasurer], TREASURER AND SECRETARY-ARCHIVIST shall be elected directly by the Society electorate. The President-Elect and the President, shall automatically become President and Past-President, respectively, at the completion of their [one] TWO-year terms. The President-Elect shall become President if the office of President becomes vacant and shall then serve until the end of the term following the term of the previous President. A President who resigns before the end of her or his elected term shall become Past-President at the end of the term.

Section 2. The Council shall consist of thirteen voting members. The members shall be the [four] FIVE officers of the Society, six members-at-large elected for staggered [3] 6-year terms with two elected each BIENNIAL year, and [three] ONE member[s]-at-large appointed by the Council for [staggered three] A SIX-year term[s] [with one appointed each year], AS WELL AS A STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE WHO SHALL BE ELECTED ANNUALLY BY THE GRADUATE STUDENTS AS THEIR REPRESENTATIVE TO COUNCIL. No member-at-large shall be eligible for a new term until two years after the expiration of a previous term.

Section 3. The Council shall be the governing body of the Society. The Council shall meet at least once each year at the time of the annual meeting of the Society. Additional Council meetings may be called by the President or by a majority of the Council members. The Council shall call regular and special meetings of the Society. It shall set registration fees and other policies for each annual meeting. It shall adopt an annual budget for the regular meeting, for routine administrative expenses and for any other Society activities it may authorize. It shall fill vacancies in its elective membership, such appointees to hold office until the next regular election. It shall have the power to interpret the Constitution. IT SHALL DECIDE POLICIES ON ANY ACTIVITIES REPRESENTING THE SOCIETY. IN MAKING DECISIONS ON BEHALF OF THE SOCIETY, THE COUNCIL MAY DECIDE TO CONSULT THE MEMBERSHIP. When the Council is not in session, the President may make such temporary rulings as are necessary, subject to review by the Council at its next meeting, or he/SHE may submit questions [by mail] to all members of the Council for their vote. A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum of the Council.

Section 4. The President shall preside at meetings of the Society and shall chair the Council. The President shall be authorized to fill any vacancies that may occur on committees for the remainder of unexpired terms and shall perform such other duties as are incident to the office or as may be required by vote of the membership or of the Council at any duly constituted meeting.

Section 5. The President-Elect shall chair meetings of the Society and the Council in the absence of the President.

Section 6. The Secretary-[Treasurer] ARCHIVIST shall be the recording secretary of the Council and of the Society. The Secretary-[Treasurer] ARCHIVIST shall make a report to the membership once each year on the organization and activities of the Council and the Society. THE SECRETARY/ARCHIVIST SHALL MAINTAIN INFORMATION CONCERNING THE CONSTITUTION, PERSONS SERVING ON THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL AND THEIR TERMS OF OFFICE, AND THE ANNUAL MEETING INCLUDING LOCAL HOSTS AND PROGRAM CHAIRS, THE PROGRAM AND THE BOOK OF ABSTRACTS.

The [Secretary-] Treasurer shall receive and have custody of the Society’s funds, maintain its accounts and pay expenses authorized by the Society’s budget. At the end of each fiscal year, the accounts shall be audited by a certified public accountant approved by the Council and the report communicated to the Council and the Society. THE TREASURER SHALL PROVIDE A LIST OF MEMBERS ELIGIBLE TO VOTE AND TO RECEIVE NEWSLETTERS AND MEETING ANNOUNCEMENTS. THE TREASURER SHALL RECEIVE ELECTION BALLOTS IN ORDER TO DETERMINE VOTING ELIGIBILITY, AND ALSO RETAIN THE BALLOTS FOR A PERIOD OF 30 DAYS AFTER THE RESULTS HAVE BEEN OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED TO THE MEMBERSHIP PENDING ANY REQUESTED REVIEW OF VOTING PROCEDURES.

Section 7. The Past-President shall [act upon membership applications and shall maintain a current list of members eligible to vote] PRESIDE OVER THE BIENNIAL ELECTION OF COUNCIL MEMBERS.

Section 1. The Council shall call a general meeting of the society to be held each year at a time and location of its choosing. At each annual meeting there shall be at least one business meeting at which the Officers and Council shall report to the Society and respond to questions from members. A majority of the members present may pass resolutions consistent with Article 1, Section 3 PROVIDED THERE IS A QUORUM OF 25% OF THE TOTAL MEMBERSHIP.

Section 2. [Notice of each regular business meeting and any special business meeting that may be called by the Council shall be mailed to each member of the Society at least fifteen days before the meeting.] MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY WILL BE NOTIFIED OF EACH REGULAR BUSINESS MEETING AND ANY SPECIAL BUSINESS MEETING THAT MAY BE CALLED BY THE COUNCIL AT LEAST FIFTEEN DAYS BEFORE THE MEETING.

Section 1. The President-Elect, Secretary-ARCHIVIST AND Treasurer and elected members of the Council shall be elected by mail ballot of those qualified to vote. They shall take office at the end of the annual meeting of the Society following their election.

Section 2. The member-at-large of the Council to be appointed [each year] shall be appointed at the Council meeting held during the annual meeting of the Society and shall take office at the end of that meeting.

Section 3. The Elections COMMITTEE CONSISTING OF PAST-PRESIDENT AND ANY MEMBERS OF COUNCIL APPROVED BY THE COUNCIL shall invite the electorate to suggest nominees. The invitation shall be issued by mail no less than four months prior to the next annual meeting and shall be returned no less than three months prior to that meeting. The Elections Committee shall select the final slate of candidates. This selection shall be guided by the suggestions of the electorate and shall ENDEAVOR TO maintain representation of the various disciplines of the Society’s membership. The Elections Committee shall determine the willingness of nominees to serve, if elected. The election ballot shall contain the names of three nominees for each officer position and of six nominees for elected Council member-at-large, and shall designate space for write-in candidates. The Elections Committee shall be responsible for the conduct of the election. Ballots shall be mailed no less than two months prior to the next annual meeting and shall be returned no less than one month prior to that meeting. Members of the electorate may vote for one candidate for each officer position and for two candidates for elected Council member-at-large. Each voter shall sign the envelope in which the ballot is returned. The candidates that received the highest number of votes for each officer position and the highest and second highest number of votes for elected Council member-at-large shall be elected. The Elections Committee shall [tabulate] OVERSEE THE TABULATION OF the ballots and report the results to the President.

Section 4. Election results shall be reviewed and verified by the Council if any voter so requests within thirty days after results are announced to the membership of the Society. All ballots shall be retained by the [Secretary-]Treasurer at least until the end of that thirty-day period and until any requested review has been completed.

Section 1. The Elections Committee shall consist of the Past-President serving as chair and, UP TO three members appointed by the Council at or following its regular annual meeting. THE BALLOTS WILL BE REMITTED TO THE TREASURER WHO WILL RETAIN THE BALLOTS IN THEIR ORIGINAL ENVELOPES UNTIL THEY ARE COUNTED BY THE TREASURER AND AT LEAST ONE MEMBER OF THE ELECTIONS COMMITTEE.

Section 2. The Program Committee and its chair shall be appointed by the Council at or following the Society’s regular annual meeting. The Program Committee shall issue announcements and call for papers and presentations for the next meeting and distribute a program in advance of the meeting. All program proposals and all submitted papers and presentations shall be judged and accepted or rejected by the Program Committee, or by appropriate persons selected by the Committee, on their scientific or scholarly merits and their conformity to the purposes of the Society.

Section 3. The Council shall appoint a Local Arrangements chair at or following the Society’s regular annual meeting. The new Local Arrangements chair, in consultation with the President, may appoint a co-chair and/or a Committee to assist in making arrangements for the next meeting.

Section 4. The Council may establish such other committees as may be helpful in the management of the Society’s affairs,

Section 5. In appointing committee members and chairs, the Council shall ENDEAVOR to maintain representations of the various disciplines of the Society’s membership.

Section 1. The Constitution may be amended by affirmative vote of two-thirds of those voting in a referendum submitted by mail to the Society’s voting membership.

Section 2. Amendments may be proposed by majority vote of the Council or by petition of at least five percent of the Society’s voting membership.

Section 3. Proposed amendments shall be transmitted to eligible voters at least 45 days before the deadline for return of votes.