In plain English, a meeting November 7 – 9 that explores dumping Darwinism in favour of a more-evidence-based approach to evolution
From Royal Society:
Overview
Scientific discussion meeting organised in partnership with the British Academy by Professor Denis Noble CBE FMedSci FRS, Professor Nancy Cartwright, Professor Sir Patrick Bateson FRS, Professor John Dupré and Professor Kevin Laland.
Developments in evolutionary biology and adjacent fields have produced calls for revision of the standard theory of evolution, although the issues involved remain hotly contested. This meeting will present these developments and arguments in a form that will encourage cross-disciplinary discussion and, in particular, involve the humanities and social sciences in order to provide further analytical perspectives and explore the social and philosophical implications.
The schedule of talks, and biographies of the organisers and speakers are available below. Alternatively you can download the draft programme (PDF). Speaker abstracts will be available closer to the meeting date. Recorded audio of the talks will be available on this page after the event has taken place. More.
James Shapiro (read-write genome) and Eva Jablonka (epigenetics) are in, which would make the whole thing worthwhile. As is Greg Hurst on symbionts. Many speakers are probably there so as not to scare old hat evolutionary biologists into fits of chronic wittering (in which case many evolutionary biologists will be advised by their physicians not to attend).
Let’s keep in mind that this must be a scary moment for many of these people. Blathering for Darwin won’t work any more. It’s the Royal Society saying, this is so done, so dead, so yesterday, so used-to-was and it will wash no more.
If nothing else, such an event separates first-rate thinkers from mediocrities content to repeat the claims and truisms that they have never really engaged with. Had to happen.
See also: Rethinking evolution
Life continues to ignore what evolution experts say
and
What the fossils told us in their own words
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