2015-09-24 (Warsaw) Human Nature after Neo-Darwinism
Jos de Mul. Human Nature after Neo-Darwinism. Keynote lecture at the Conference Human Nature. Human Philosophy Project. Oxford University & University of Warsaw. Warsaw, September 24, 2015.
In the course of the 20th century the so-called Modern Synthesis of Neo-Darwinism has become the dominant paradigm in modern biology. First, it is explained how and why Darwin’s broad definition of evolution, in which the environment plays an important role, was narrowed down by Neo-Darwinism to a radical gene-centric view. Next, the paradigm shift taking place today in ‘postgenomic’ evolutionary biology and genetics is discussed. It is argued that this shift opens the way to a more humane conception of evolution, more in line with Darwin’s view. Finally, I will discuss some of the implications of this paradigm shift for human self-reflection, taking The Music of Life. Biology Beyond Genes of systems biologist Denis Noble as a starting point.
KeywordsNeo-Darwinism, Dennis Noble, gene-centrism, postgenomics, agency, human self-reflection
The nation state, imagined as a formation encompassing a culturally unified people, is now straining under the challenges of globalization and the revolution in communication technology. This conference will consider the dynamic changes that are currently taking place with respect to cultural and religious diversity as a result of the explosion in communication technologies, address the conflicts they give rise to, and discuss the ramifications for both law and politics.
In his essay ‘The Idea of Europe’ George Steiner claims that European culture derives from “a primordial duality, the twofold inheritance of Athens and Jerusalem”. For Steiner, the relationship between Greek rationalism and Jewish religion, which is at once conflictual and syncretic, has engaged the entire history of European philosophy, morality, and politics. However, given this definition, at present the United States of America seem to be more European that ‘the old Europe’ itself. Against Steiner, it will be argued that in order to fathom the distinctive characteristic of European culture, we have to take a third European tradition into account, which is inextricably bound up with Athens: the tradition of Greek tragedy. If we may call Europe a tragic continent, it is not only because its history is characterised by an abundance of real political tragedies, but also because it embodies, as an idea and an ideal, a tragic awareness of the fragility of human life. Instead of reducing the ‘idea of Europe’ to a financial and economic issue, Europe should remain faithful to this idea and ideal.
The city, too, is landscape. We can leave it by going into nature exchanging the urban for the rural, but we can also enter the city to live within the architecture and contemplate its forms. Every architectural structure is a landscape and promotes an educational or paedeumatic relationship between the spirit and the environment. Our gaze and our bodies activate a certain way of contemplating that promotes the interchange between the external perception of the physical world and an internal seeing, which is the psychic perception of the visual image. There is a close relationship between the aesthetic experience of the natural environment and that of the urban landscape. In the same way that humankind lives on the earth so, too, it lives in the city.
Pim & Geert. Tien jaar Nederlands populisme. Voordracht ter gelegenheid van de Maand van de Filosofie. Maastricht: Centre Céramique. Zondag 15 april 2012 | 15.00-16.30 uurOp 6 mei 2012 zal het precies tien jaar geleden zijn dat de populaire en populistische politicus Pim Fortuyn op het Mediapark in Hilversum op brute wijze werd doodgeschoten door milieu-activist Volkert van der Graaf. De moord markeerde het begin van een turbulent decennium in de Nederlandse politiek, dat in het teken stond van de opmars van populisten zoals Verdonk en Wilders, een vergaande polarisatie en verruwing, en de val van vier kabinetten Balkenende. De door vele schermutselingen gekenmerkte gedoogsamenwerking van Rutte, Verhage en Wilders laat zien dat de politieke rust nog geenszins is teruggekeerd.
