The Darwin 2009 Festival, 5-10 July 2009, celebrated the bicentenary of Darwin’s birth and the sesquicentenary of the publication of his most famous book, On the Origin of Species. About 1500 people attended the core Festival and at least the same number again attended the related exhibitions, tours and fringe events during the week. The programme comprised over 70 separate events and included 110 outstanding speakers. Intended to appeal to a broad audience, from academics to teenagers, the Festival covered a highly varied range of topics. The Festival encapsulated the current state of...
Darwin and the ascent of emotionally modern man: how humans became such hypersocial apes
Professor Sarah Blaffer Hrdy (University of California, Davis, USA)
Summary: As Darwin observed early on, humans are remarkably similar to other apes. Like their larger brained,...
Published 11/30/09
Professor Sir John Sulston (University of Manchester, UK). Abstract: Darwin liberated us from dogma by making biology comprehensible, so allowing us to move forward. But whilst natural selection provides an explanation for our existence, it does not tell us how to behave. We must ourselves face...
Published 10/06/09