The Great Debate: Agents of Change?
Darwinian Thought and Theories of Human Nature
Sponsored by
School of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Northumbria
and
Edinburgh University Press
9am – 4pm, Saturday, 25th October 2008
Lecture Theatre CCE1-003
(Break-out Rooms: CCE1-018, CCE1-022, CCE1-021)
Newcastle Business School
University of Northumbria
Darwinism or Darwinitis?
Key note speech by Raymond Tallis,
author The Hand, I am, The Knowing Animal,
The Enemies of Hope, In Defence of Realism
Chair: David O'Toole,
The Great Debate
Darwinism without Darwinitis:
text of talk with slides
Video of discussion
The Great Human Nature Debate
For centuries philosophers and scientists have been trying to define what
constitutes human nature, yet this area of knowledge remains highly contested.
Some think that agency, the capacity to make choices
and moral judgements, and to act on them, lies at the heart of being human.
For others it is our consciousness of our selves that is the defining factor.
Others still claim that free will, agency and
consciousness are illusions that are accidents of brain function. So, is
there a universal human nature? If so, what do we all have in common?
What makes us different from animals? Do the defining factors even exist?
Speakers:
Rita Carter, author Mapping the Mind,
Conciousness
Dr Caspar Hewett, Director,
The Great Debate
Thomas Pink,
author The Psychology of Freedom, Free Will: A Very Short Introduction
Chair: Kevin
Yuill, Sunderland University
Click here to view video of debate
What can science tell us about human nature?
Modern developments in areas such as neuroscience, artificial intelligence
and evolutionary psychology have resulted in new ways of thinking about human
nature. Can we explain the mind and consciousness in terms of brain function?
Can we understand modern human behaviour in terms of our evolutionary heritage?
Is science even the right place to start if we want to understand human nature?
Speakers:
Igor Aleksander,
author The World in My Mind, How to Build a Mind
Bruce
Charlton,
author Psychiatry and the Human Condition
Chair:
Pauline Hadaway, Director,
Belfast Exposed
Click here to view video of debate
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Timetable
09.00 – 09.30 Registration and coffee
09.30 – 09.45 Welcome
09.45 – 11.15 The Great Human Nature Debate
11.15 – 11.45 Break
11.45 – 13.15 What can science tell us about human nature?
13.15 – 14.15 Lunch
14.15 – 15.45 Darwinism or Darwinitis?
Keynote talk and discussion
15.45 – 16.00 Closing remarks
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