PUBLIC DEBATE: FROM DARWIN TO HITLER? RICHARD WEIKART MEETS HIS CRITICS
University of Leeds
Monday 3 September
6 pm to 7:15 pm
Chemistry Lecture Theatre D (off the Parkinson Court, Parkinson Building)
It is well known that Nazi ideology, with its celebration of a "master race" struggling against "inferior" races, drew on the legacies of Charles Darwin. But was Darwin therefore in some way to blame for the moral catastrophe of Nazi Germany? Does Hitler's historical connection to Darwinism suggest that there is something morally dangerous in a Darwinian view of the world? In his 2004 book FROM DARWIN TO HITLER: EVOLUTIONARY ETHICS, EUGENICS, AND RACISM IN GERMANY, historian Richard Weikart reopened the question of the responsibility of Darwinian science for Nazi crimes and the lessons for the present. This event, which is free to all, will give audience members a chance to make up their own minds as Weikart confronts three critical commentators on his work, Jonathan Harwood (University of Manchester), Staffan Mueller-Wille (University of Exeter) and Steve Fuller (University of Warwick).
For directions, go to http://webprod2.leeds.ac.uk/campusmap/index.asp Following the event there will be a free drinks reception and buffet supper in Parkinson Court.
This event is part of the Darwinism After Darwin: New Historical Perspectives conference, being held at the University of Leeds between 3rd-5th September. For information, and to register for the conference, go to www.darwinismafterdarwin.com <http://www.darwinismafterdarwin.com/>
Organized by the British Society for the History of Science and the Division of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Leeds, with financial assistance from the British Academy, the Department of Philosophy, University of Leeds, and the British Society for the History of Science Outreach and Education Committee.
Dr Gregory Radick
Senior Lecturer and Chair of Division
Division of History and Philosophy of Science
Department of Philosophy
University of Leeds
Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
T: (UK) 0113 343 3269
F: (UK) 0113 343 3265
Email: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Website: http://www.philosophy.leeds.ac.uk/Staff/GR/Radick.htm <http://www.philosophy.leeds.ac.uk/Staff/GR/Radick.htm>
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