Science, Story, and Self
This pilot study, conducted at Saint Mary's College of California in 2024–2025, examined the cognitive, behavioral, and experiential impacts of engaging undergraduate students in deep inquiry around science, meaning, and evolutionary narratives. The research was carried out across two interdisciplinary humanities courses: Dr. Ellen Rigsby's Rhetoric of Science (Communication Department, Fall 2024) and Dr. Sheila Hassell Hughes' Stories of the Universe (January Term, 2025). Both courses were inspired by and incorporated works published by Human Energy, which sponsored the project.
The study assessed whether pedagogical exposure to scientific worldviews and reflective storytelling fosters transformation in self-concept, values, ecological identity, and psychological functioning. It extends an earlier Human Energy and ProSocial World collaborative project, Science of the Noosphere, applying similar research methodologies to a college student population.
The research was conducted in partnership with ProSocial World, the organization founded by evolutionary biologist Dr. David Sloan Wilson, whose frameworks and instruments informed the study design. ProSocial World conducted the quantitative analysis and prepared the findings report in collaboration with the two principal investigators, who gathered data, taught the courses, and contributed to the qualitative analysis.
Findings are reported in Science, Story, and Self: Exploring Transformative Learning Across Two Interdisciplinary Courses (Hawkins & Hutchison, 2025), available upon request.
The Techno-Social Dilemma Among College Students
This pilot study was conducted at Saint Mary’s College, in 2021, to investigate whether dynamic conversation strategies could be effective in helping undergraduate students to grasp the complex and abstract concept of the noosphere, particularly in relation to the concept of the techno-social dilemma. The qualitative research study involved thematic, coded analysis of nine structured, hour-long 1-1 interviews with undergraduate students. Results of this research suggest that, in a single one-hour conversation, prefaced by viewing two short videos, it is possible to teach college students the new, highly abstract concept of the noosphere; and that learning the concept is not the same as adopting it. Researchers concluded that contextualized knowledge, such as what happens in the classroom, is likely to generate more serious engagement and readiness to adopt a noospheric perspective.
The Science of the Noosphere Master Class Research Study
The Science of the Noosphere Masterclass (2023), a collaboration between
Human Energy and
ProSocial World, aimed to unite a diverse group of participants interested in exploring the concept of the noosphere. The main learning objective of the course was the co-development of a worldview that can lead to worldwide cooperation.
Over the course of 10 weeks, the online class delved into the 25 video conversations comprising Human Energy’s Science of the Noosphere video series, under the leadership of Professor
David Sloan Wilson. Each video interview features experts discussing scientific concepts related to the noosphere. With many of the experts serving as guest speakers in the Master Class, peer interaction and engagement were integral to the learning experience, leading to the emergence of self-organized interest groups. The Master Class served as a unique laboratory for studying how minds can change within the context of collaborative learning, emphasizing research conducted with participants rather than on them. Pre- and posttest measures, including psychometric surveys and analysis tools like Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) and daily measurements using the Process-Based Assessment Tool (PBAT), revealed significant outcomes. Further analysis, using natural language processing techniques is underway. The initial report, “
Exploring the Noosphere: Uniting Minds, Shaping Futures,” is now available.
