The Centre for Philosophy of Science of the Universidade de Lisboa is, in collaboration with ISPA and CBA, organizing a 2-day international conference on Evolution today and tomorrow, Darwin evaluated by contemporary evolutionary and philosophical theories. The conference will be held on 23 & 24 April, 2009 at the Universidade de Lisboa.
Conference theme
In 2009, the world is celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of his magnum opus On the Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection. 2009 is also the 100th anniversary of Constantin Mereschkowsky's article on symbiogenesis "The Theory of Two Plasmas as the Basis of Symbiogenesis, a New Study for the Origins of Organisms". Moreover, Jean Baptiste Lamarck's Philosophie Zoologique was first published 200 years ago. And finally, Alexander von Humboldt, the father of biogeography, passed away 150 years ago.In the conference, we will investigate the impact that Darwin's thinking had on modern evolutionary biology as well as on philosophy of biology. More specifically, we will examine the theory of natural selection in regard to the modern theories of symbiogenesis and punctuated equilibrium. The focus will lie on the controversies over the pace of evolution, the different species concepts that arise by making use of different evolutionary theories, and the units and levels of evolution debate. We will furthermore examine the current implementation of Neodarwinian thinking in the human and social sciences and its philosophical implications. It is often stated that cultural and social evolution occur more in accordance with Lamarckian ideas of inheritance. We will test these views in light of selectionist interpretations of the rise of culture.The international conference combines the expertise of both foreign as well as Portuguese experts in the field of both biology and philosophy. Together, these experts will put forward important knowledge on evolution, understandable for both the scientific and non-scientific community of Portugal. Therefore the conference will help in a better understanding of evolution at all levels of society.
Plenary Speakers
António M. de Frias Martins, Universidade dos Açores, Portugal
Jan Sapp, University of York, Canada
John Wilkins, University of Sydney, Australia
James Steele, University College London, UK
James Steele, University College London, UK
Call for posters
We kindly invite scholars to contribute to the conference with a poster presentation. Posters can be in accordance with any of the philosophical and biological topics discussed in the 4 major conference sessions: 1. The pace of evolution (gradualism versus punctuated equilibrium, developmental systems theory, embryology...)2. Symbiogenesis (the origin of eukaryotes and prokaryotes, viruses, mutualism, parasitism, commensualism...) 3. Species concepts and units and levels of evolution (phylogenetic trees, hybridization, multilevel selection, identity...)4. Darwinism applied to the human and social sciences (evolutionary anthropology, evolutionary archaeology, evolutionary linguistics, neuroscience...)The language of the poster can be either in English or in Portuguese. Posters should be in portrait and must not exceed a width of 70cm and a height of 100cm. The posters will be visible during the entire conference, and they can be discussed during the conference reception and coffee breaks.
Interested scholars can send an abstract in accordance to the abstract template to Helena Abreu: helenaabr@gmail.com. The deadline for abstract submission is 12 April 2009.
All abstracts will be published in the conference booklet.
More information at http://cfcul.fc.ul.pt/coloquios/darwincolloquium/coloquiodarwin.htm