The Return of the Environment in Concepts of Heredity, Development and Evolution Workshop
University of Leeds
Division of History and Philosophy of Science
Thursday 15th and Friday 16th May 2008
Recent publications such as Jablonka and Lamb’s Evolution in Four Dimensions and West-Eberhard’s Developmental Plasticity and Evolution have demonstrated that in genetics, genomics, developmental biology and evolutionary biology, the environment is back on the agenda. This workshop – the first in a projected series of meetings – aims to place these recent developments in wider and longer contexts, by exploring the changing role of the environment in the long run of concepts of heredity, development and evolution. We seek a multidisciplinary perspective; contributions of papers from the sciences, history, philosophy, sociology and anthropology – or combinations of these – are all welcome.
Questions to be addressed at the workshop may include:
• the diverse conceptions of the inheritance of acquired characters ("Lamarckism") and their histories
• the importance of national, disciplinary, and other traditions in conditioning "environmentalist" thinking
• the nature of the challenge of epigenesis/epigenomics and related developments to old scientific, historical and philosophical commonplaces
• the cultural politics of the "nature/nurture" debate
Confirmed speakers/participants:
Eva Jablonka (Cohn Institute, University of Tel Aviv), Marion Lamb (Birkbeck College, University of London), John Dupre (Egenis, University of Exeter), Jon Hodge (University of Leeds), Staffan Mueller-Wille (Egenis, University of Exeter), Greg Radick (University of Leeds), Brain Garvey (University of Lancaster), Snait Gissis (University of Tel Aviv), Fern Elsdon-Baker (University of Leeds)
Organisers:
Dr Fern Elsdon-Baker
Dr Greg Radick
Beth Hannon
Further workshop details can be found at:
http://www.dur.ac.uk/e.m.hannon/ReturnoftheEnvironment.html
Submissions of paper abstracts of no more than 300 words should be sent to Fern Elsdon-Baker by Friday 14th March. Places will be limited.
For more information or submissions, please contact Fern Elsdon-Baker at:
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Postal address:
Dr Fern Elsdon-Baker
Division of History and Philosophy of Science,
Department of Philosophy,
University of Leeds,
Woodhouse Lane,
Leeds,
LS2 9JT
UK
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