Dartmouth symposium to explore Darwin's cultural, social and scientific legacy

Posted 10/15/99

Some of the world's most prominent experts on evolution will gather at Dartmouth on Friday, Oct. 29 and Saturday, Oct. 30 for a seminar exploring the scientific, social and cultural legacy of Charles Darwin's revolutionary theory. The symposium, "Darwinian Evolution Across the Disciplines," will take place in Moore Hall at Dartmouth College.

"Our goal is to explore how biological evolutionary theory can enlighten -- and has enlightened -- fundamental principles in many disciplines of scholarship," says Biology Professor Mark McPeek, organizer of the event. "Evolutionary ideas have influenced a number of disciplines, but most of them have operated in isolation from each other. In addition to providing a forum for cross-disciplinary discussion, we hope participants will find ways their own fields can benefit from the ideas and research in other fields."

Presentations will draw on disciplines ranging from biology, psychology, and medicine to cultural studies, economics and philosophy. The hope, says McPeek, is to "spark cross-disciplinary research into the application of evolutionary theory across scholarly disciplines at Dartmouth and to provide models for such work at other institutions."

Northwestern University philosopher David Hull, who is a past President of the Philosophy of Science Association, will open the symposium with a keynote lecture at 8 a.m. on Friday, speaking on how the development of science has been influenced by cultural trends.

Presentations on Saturday will begin at 8 a.m. Harvard biologist Richard Lewontin, an expert on population genetics, will speak on "Biological Evolution and Cultural History;" Melanie Mitchell of Los Alamos National Laboratory and the

Sante Fe Institute, will talk about the application of Darwinian theory to make computers more self-adapting; Randolph Nesse, a physician from the University of Michigan, will talk about the application of natural selection to the understanding of human diseases; Geoffrey Hodgson of Cambridge University will explore the links between Darwinism and economics; Peter Richerson of the University of California, Davis, will speak on the use of Darwinian methods to study cultural evolution; Denise Cummins, also from U. C. Davis, will talk about the evolutionary approach to cognition; finally, David Sloan Wilson, an evolutionary biologist from Binghamton University, will discuss the ways evolutionary concepts have influenced different religious groups.

Conclusions and ideas from the symposium will also find their way to the broader public. McPeek and his colleagues plan to produce an edited volume from the symposium.

Admission to the symposium is free and open to all, but those planning to attend are urged to contact McPeek so that organizers can estimate attendance. For more details on speakers and their talks, visit the symposium web page.