Because Definitions Matter: A Reader's Guide to the Applied Evolutionary Ethology Paper Series

This document is a reader's guide to the Applied Evolutionary Ethology (AEE) paper series — Because Definitions Matter — a fourteen-paper series establishing Applied Evolutionary Ethology as an integrative field unifying evolutionary biology, ethology, and applied behavior analysis under a first-principles account of self-interest-driven agency. Each paper in the series defines one foundational term from first principles, using evolutionary history as the foundational architecture. The definitions are not descriptive but mechanistic and predictive — they generate connections between concepts that existing frameworks treat as unrelated, and they produce predictions that no existing behavioral framework anticipated, including accurate predictions about the development of artificial intelligence. The framework was built from thirty years of applied work flying parrots at liberty and developing the behavioral methodology that produced the first documented parrot conservation reintroduction program to achieve 100% first-year survival. It was not designed as an AI framework. When the logic was followed to its conclusion, it became one. This guide describes each paper in order, explains what question it addresses, summarizes its core contribution, and provides its DOI. Papers 1 through 12 are currently available. Papers 13 and 14 are forthcoming. This series and its companion book are being rushed into publication due to the pace of AI development. The framework identifies both the structural source of the alignment problem and its correct developmental solution. The priority is getting the content on the record. A fully formatted and cited edition will follow. Chris Biro | Bird Recovery International | www.parrottraining.com